


The Dead Colonel

by Gab13



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fake Character Death, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Lu Ten (Avatar) Lives, M/M, Order of the White Lotus, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Pining, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Zuko (Avatar) Gets a Hug, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:02:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26206111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gab13/pseuds/Gab13
Summary: Lu Ten has been living a life of peace and quiet after his death in the Ba Sing Se invasion is announced. However, after a chance encounter with the Avatar and his companions, he knows his time in hiding and his desperate grasp on neutrality in the war is fading. After offering his help by teaching firebending to the Avatar, Lu Ten doesn't know how long he will be able to keep his identity as a secret. For six long years, he has been living as Tenko and no one, not even his father, knows that he is alive.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Iroh & Lu Ten, Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Lu Ten & Zuko, Lu Ten/Haru, Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 100
Kudos: 508





	1. A Stolen Encounter

Lu Ten strolled through the market glancing left and right at the various commodities around him. He had been living in the bustling town on the outskirts of the Fire Nation for almost six years now. The town was bright and busy. A modest-sized population, but bustling with national pride. It was a prosperous place, close to the ocean.

Lu Ten went by the name Tenko to the residents of the town. As former and deceased heir to the throne, his name drew attention and found a variation of his name to be a suitable alibi. It had morphed into his new identity once he had taken refuge from the war and Ba Sing Se.

The failed assassination attempt had left him scarred physically and mentally. He trusted few people, made surface-level connections, and never grew close enough to anyone to have another family. He knew members of his own family had been behind the attempt on his life, and he wanted no part in the complicated politics of the war and its immoralities littering the palace. So he left it all behind. All of it. Even the parts he loved.

But even so many years later, he still found himself longing for his family; a dangerous feeling. And so, he closed himself off from others and allowed himself to grieve for his father, who loved him unconditionally despite such sentiments being deemed unfit for upper-class socialites. He grieved for his cousins, who were so young and couldn’t see how dangerous their father was. He especially grieved for his eldest cousin though, seeing such a light in him that was being fostered by his mother and smothered by his father. 

He allowed himself to grieve because he loved them and grief meant they were gone, and beyond his reach. If he allowed himself to miss them, he wouldn’t have the strength to stay away. So instead, he told himself they were gone, beyond his reach, and so he grieved for the few members of his family that were good.

Oftentimes, wondering the market like this, made him reflect on his past and grow wistful. If his thoughts strayed to his family for too long, then he would begin to wonder about them. And so Lu Ten sighed and shook himself from his melancholy thoughts, shutting them down before they grew. He rubbed the scar on thigh absentmindedly and continued to peruse the market for fresh fruits and vegetables, grabbing fresh and crisp ones as he saw them, and placed them in his basket.

As he neared the edge of the market, he glanced past the end and observed the drying laundry in the large yard. The couple who lived there ran an establishment for cleaning and repairing the clothes of the wealthy. His eyebrows raised as he saw four figures dash into the yard to grab various articles of clothing. His eyebrows raised even further as he glimpsed the blue clothes of two of the figures, the green of another, and finally the yellow of the last. His eyes met the boy with the singed yellow outfit as he was pulling a school uniform off the clothesline and noticed his arrows. It was easy to conclude who the boy was, as well as the identity of his companions. The boy looked nervous upon seeing him and froze. Lu Ten sighed, rolled his eyes, turned around. He hated politics. He took a deep breath and turned back into the market to find more food. Goodness knows the avatar and his friends looked like they needed a good meal.

A few hours later, Lu Ten found himself walking around the cave areas near the seaside. He assumed the avatar wouldn’t have been too far from town since they hadn’t had any disguises. He had packed food into a sack and lugged it over his shoulder. He had already checked two of the smaller caves before he stopped to think. He thought back to a few months ago when he’d heard that the avatar’s animal companion was a flying bison. Avatars always had their animal companions with them. It was a lesson he had learned from his tutors growing up, and all lessons on the avatar, as small as they seemed, were rigorously enforced and ingrained into his mind. He knew the avatar would have to pick a large cave, and suddenly he knew exactly where they were.

He heard them before he saw them. They were arguing loudly about what to do next, now that they had disguises. And then they were arguing about him.

“ I’m telling you, he saw me! We made eye contact. Someone saw us stealing clothes. We have to move on, we can’t stay here!”

“But you said he rolled his eyes and turned away. He probably just thought we were punk kids or something. Why don’t we spend the night and keep going tomorrow? He won't know where to find us anyways. There are millions of these caves all around us!”

“Umm… hate to break it to you Katara, but I think the guy who just saw Aang is standing outside.” Lu Ten startled. He wondered how they knew he was there. He figured it didn’t matter though and he moved forwards to announce himself. As he walked into sight, he saw all four kids preparing to fight him, waiting to strike. He sighed. He wondered how at 26 he could feel so ancient.

“I brought you food,” he said simply, shrugging off his pack and laying it to rest at his feet. “You look like you need some good food.” The group looked at him for a few seconds, none of them relaxing their stances. Then the avatar spoke, looking slightly odd with his belt tied around his head like a headband.

“And you thought you’d be the one to bring it to us. Why?”

“Simple. You’re the avatar.” His friends gasped and assumed even more defensive positions at his words.

“Who are you, and why should we trust you? You’re from the fire nation! What could you possibly gain from helping us?” The eldest girl certainly had a glare on her. Lu Ten didn’t blame her for being suspicious. He sighed. He had known that it would be difficult initially to gain their trust.

“Your goal is to defeat the Firelord, right?” He paused, waiting for the hesitant nods from the kids. “Well then, I’d love to help you. The guy tried to assassinate me six years ago. He’s not a good man.” Lu Ten saw the shocked and disbelieving glances between three of them at his bold and simple statement of treason. Only one of them relaxed their stance. It was the smallest one, a little girl who appeared to have a milky pale sheen over her eyes, marking her as blind.

“He’s not lying. He wants to help us, and the Firelord really did try to assassinate him.” She spoke loudly and assertively. Her companions slowly began to relax, still shooting him wary glances. Lu Ten wondered how she was so confident in her answer.

“Are you sure, Toph?” asked the avatar.

“Positive,” she replied with a small smirk. Lu Ten figured that he would need to keep a wary approach around her. They might all be children, but evidently, they were more capable and intelligent than he thought. That was good. Less work for him.

“Right then. Now that that’s settled, I brought you fresh food and some spices. Help yourselves, please. It's all yours.” He picked up the bag and walked towards them, holding out the bag for one of them to take. Katara took a cautious step forward and took it from him with a small barely uttered word of thanks.

“Now, you can call me Tenko. It's not the name I was given at birth, but it's what I go by now. I’d love to learn all of your names and some things about you as well. I’m hoping I can join and assist you in your mission. It's evident you don’t know much of the Fire Nation and you’ll need a guide.” He pushed past them and glanced at the cave they decided to stay in. It looked cold and wet, and as if to prove this train of thought, a drop of water fell from a stalactite and landed on his shoe. “Follow me, you can spend the night with me. I have guest rooms. I also have a barn for your bison to hide in. Though he’ll have to move at night to avoid being seen.”

He turned around and noticed none of them moved and they were all staring at him as if he were the strangest thing to ever exist.

“Why do you want to help us?” The avatar asked, taking half a step forward.

“I thought I made that clear. I have no love for the Firelord and I want this war to be over. It's cost far too many lives. And will cost many more no doubt if not stopped as soon as possible.”

“But you're part of the fire nation. That doesn’t make sense. You guys want the war.” The boy with the ponytail stated.

Lu Ten sighed and sat down, motioning them to do the same. “Contrary to popular belief, the fire nation doesn’t actually love the war. The education system changed under Fire Lord Azulon to teach that the other nations of the world aren’t as advanced, or are savages and that the war is there to teach our better ways and bring a better world. But I’ve seen the world, and I know that those teachings aren’t true. But even if the other members of the fire nation believe what they’ve been taught, they hate losing brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. They want this war to end too. Maybe not for the reasons I do, but they want an end nevertheless. I was a lieutenant under the General for quite some time. A very high ranking officer in the fire nation’s army. I saw terrible things. I did terrible things. But the time is coming for those to end. I’ve waited my time, and now the time for patience is over. That is why I wish to help you.”

“You said the fire lord tried to have you assassinated. Why?” It was the little girl again. She picked up on small details. His lips twitched as the urge to smile struck him. He squashed it. He was here to do a job, smiling would have to come after.

“To put it simply, I was in his way. That is all I will say on the matter. You’ll have to respect my desire for privacy. You see, the Firelord believes he succeeded and I should very much like to remain dead to the world, including to you all. My identity is Tenko now, and I ask you to respect that.” The avatar and the other boy nodded, seeming to agree to his statement and logic. The eldest girl frowned and looked away. The youngest just tilted her head as if considering him.

“Alright, what you said makes sense. Would you mind giving us a minute to talk about it first though? You can understand our suspicion and any decision we make, we make together.” The avatar said. Lu Ten nodded and walked a few paces away, out of the cave. He stood for a few minutes, his back to them, and stared at the ocean, the pelican-gulls squawking noisily around him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He remembered the lessons his father would give him on breathing for firebending. They stuck with him still, and he missed his father and his tea all the more dearly.

“Alright, you’re in.” It came from behind him. He didn’t turn around immediately, taking the time to quell his beating heart and smile. Perhaps he would see his family again after all. The good members and the bad ones too.


	2. Stories of The Past

Lu Ten was 18 when he first left for the war. At 18, Fire Lord Azulon was still alive and his father was heir to the throne, loyal to the fire nation, and took an active role in the war. Before Lu Ten left to fight in the war, he had attended the Royal Fire Academy For Boys until he was 15, then worked his way up the ranks in the Fire Nation Military College for three years. He had no doubt his speedy advancement was also spurred by his title as Prince, but during those years, Lu Ten found it was better to be in a position of rank than a simple soldier, so he didn’t waste his time complaining about his privilege when it worked to his advantage. 

General Iroh was a popular leader among the ranks of the military. Those who knew him personally knew of his love of tea and pi sho. Those who didn’t know him personally were awed at his title “Dragon of the West”. He was famous for his strategies. They were legendary for being intelligent, clever, and most importantly, almost always successful. General Iroh had something not many others had: patience. Other, stuffier and snobbier generals mocked Iroh for his strategies, but even they couldn’t deny his results in battle, and the high rates of soldier survival. 

It was Ozai’s proposal to take Ba Sing Se. Lu Ten was attending the war council, having just reached his top rank of colonel that past month. He was standing behind his father’s seated position and just listening and observing, not speaking his opinions. He had been attending the war councils since he was 16. But as per tradition, he wouldn’t participate until he was 20 or until he was second in line. Lu Ten didn’t mind. He found his father almost always said exactly what he thought, only in a better and less offensive manner. Lu Ten’s tendency to let profanities slip out when discussing the idiocy of a few generals and their plans would probably lead to some of those generals taking offence, so he kept his mouth shut. He was a teenager anyway, and everyone knew that nobody listened to teenagers, no matter how much sense they made.

“My lord, if I may,” Ozai’s silky smooth voice crept out, sly and cunning. At a gesture from the Firelord, he continued. “My brother Iroh has shown immense skill with strategy and has no doubt proven his prestige. Why don’t we send him to Ba Sing Se? The city has evaded us this long, and with Iroh’s skills, perhaps it may yet fall. I believe Iroh’s reputation speaks for itself as… successful.” An almost minuscule sneer formed as if complimenting his brother physically pained him. “This would be the Fire Nation’s greatest accomplishment yet.”

Iroh spoke up quickly before Azulon could reply. “My lord, I do believe that Ozai has the right idea.” Lu Ten saw Ozai’s face flicker into a small expression of surprise, then harsh victory before turning neutral once more. He got an uncomfortable knot in his stomach. 

“I have made no secret of my journeys to the spirit world, and they have shown me visions of conquering Ba Sing Se. Perhaps it is time to turn this vision into reality. Perhaps the time of waiting is over for the Fire Nation. I support my younger brother’s plan and would be willing to launch an invasion as soon as you are willing.” Iroh spoke clearly.

Azulon nodded slowly as if considering all options. He was silent for a few moments, time standing still, then spoke, “Very well. A plan shall be drafted and once approved, General Iroh, you shall go to Ba Sing Se. Do our country proud, my son.”

Iroh nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Yes, father. I believe it will be a victory to remember.”

______________________________________________

They had been in Ba Sing Se for months now. The siege was dark, dirty, and messy work. Lu Ten felt like he was almost always covered in dust, mud, and blood. Sweat dripped down his face, trickling down his neck and back. Breaking down the wall had been hard, and yet they had finally made it through. The outer wall of Ba Sing Se had been breached just earlier that morning. And for now, the army would hold their position for two days in order to recover, rest, and help the wounded.

Lu Ten was in charge of an entire battalion. He got his orders from his father, and then he executed them. It was a good system. He got to make the majority of his decisions (except for the big ones regarding strategy). He was a good leader and he liked the camaraderie that came with being in the war. He liked to wander in and mingle with the normal soldiers and as a result, was popular. The soldiers like to gently poke fun at his age, but he found he didn’t mind so much because he knew they respected him and that their respect was returned.

It was night time and the sky was dark. The air was far from silent though as the sounds of celebrations echoed. He had been drinking and celebrating with a group of 20 other men and women at the break of the wall. They had tomorrow to rest and then they would continue into the earth kingdom and to victory.

He glanced around him, smiling and with laughter bubbling in his chest at the sounds of victory all around him. It was a joyous sight. There were groups singing songs and dancing, other groups just hanging in a circle mingling and telling jokes, some playing card games or pai sho. There was a couple standing in the corner, two women sharing secret smiles, fleeting touches and standing hip to hip with their faces almost touching. The small unlucky few who were on sentry duty were glancing wistfully behind them and sighing in jealousy and cursing their bad luck. Lu Ten felt happy that his country’s future was looking up.

And in that picture-perfect moment, Lu Ten’s world ended. A series of bombs were earthbended to the surface and exploded in an instant. There were dozens of bombs that exploded at the same instant, killing hundreds of soldiers in seconds. 

Lu Ten got lucky, catching the edge of an explosion, and was blown backwards instead of into pieces. His hearing deafened from the continuous noise, he heard nothing but ringing. Lu Ten found himself crumpled on the ground on his back. He rolled over onto his hands and knees, the world spinning, black with smoke, dirt flying. He felt his stomach heave and he retched. After being violently sick and the taste of ash, dirt, and vomit lingering in his mouth, Lu Ten oriented himself enough to look up, either taking seconds or minutes, he saw the end of the world.

Dead soldiers littered the ground. Others were screaming in pain, grabbing at burned or missing limbs. He struggled to his feet, his hands grabbing at something, anything, to help him stay up. There wasn’t anything and he fell back to the ground. He kept moving though, struggling up, half crawling, half running to the edge of the camp.

He saw people running all around him, he saw green clothes enter the picture and he turned away from them as soon as he saw them. His hearing was coming back, slowly, and Lu Ten almost wished it wouldn't because all he could hear was horror. He saw a group of men running and he hid, crouching next to some storage barrels. Something was wrong. These men were wearing red and yet were perfectly unharmed, not even dirty from flying mud. He heard muffled noises. He couldn't hear what they were saying, only catching a few phrases and words. But it was enough.

“Where… prince? …. Ozai wants…. prince killed.”  
“Did…. how many…. bodies? The price has to be…I’m sure… blown up.”

He was so absorbed in trying to make sense of what he heard that he didn’t notice someone sneak up behind him. He startled as a hand touched his arm. He jumped, ready to fight, but it was Ming, one of his guards. 

She knelt next to him, put a finger to her lips, wrapped her arm around him, and pulled him to his feet and around her in one move. She adjusted his body weight so she could help him move until he gathered his bearings. She paused, checking the area around her, then pulled him with her. Together they ran and hid until they reached far enough from camp that they wouldn’t be seen. 

“Ming, what’s going on?” The ringing in his ears was loud, but he was able to hear himself speak.

She winced, put a finger to her lips, then spoke just loud enough for him to make out, “I’ve known about the assassination plan for a few days now. We had a plan in place, but I’m the only one left. I just didn’t know when it would happen. About a day’s walk that way,” She pointed behind him, “is a small abandoned hut. It got burned a while ago. Inside the fireplace, there's food, a first aid kit, and money. I put it there as a worst-case scenario. There’s enough to start a new life, go by a new name. This was your uncle’s doing, and your father knew about it. He’s the one who alerted us to keep an eye out. Good luck your majesty. Go, now! I’ll tell your father you’re alive.” She pushed him away with a smile, and turned and ran back towards the flames of what used to be a celebration and what was now a massacre.

He stumbled in the direction she pointed. He hesitated, turned back the way he came and peered into the darkness. With the fires directly in his vision, all he could see were black shapes. He saw three figures moving towards her lone figure, a small conversation, some yelling, a blast of fire from Ming. He muffled a cry by stuffing his hand in his mouth as he saw the shape of swords pierce her form. She crumpled to the ground and was still. A tear fell from his eyes without his notice. Then he turned and ran. He didn’t look back again.

______________________________________

When Lu Ten was 16, Zuko was 8 and Azula was 6. Zuko trailed after his mother like a turtle-duckling, while Azula clung to independence like an eagle-hawk ready to leave its nest. They were completely different children, yet even despite that they still had a bond. Zuko loved his sister and was proud of her prowess despite his jealousy. Azula loved showing off to her brother because she wanted him to be proud of her and she wanted his praise. 

The children’s relationships with their parents were unhealthy. And Lu Ten could see it clearly. The staff could see it. The lords could see it. Anyone who ever interacted with the royal family could see it. They could see the fear in Ursa and Zuko’s eyes when they looked at Ozai. They could see the admiration in Azula’s eyes when she looked at her father, and the longing she felt when she looked at her mother. Because everyone could see that Ursa clung to Zuko, and he clung back just as tight, which left no room for Azula so she would turn to her father and receive cold praise for her raw talents. Zuko wanted his father’s love and Azula wanted her mother’s. 

Lu Ten’s heart broke for them because when he looked at his own parents, he was lucky. His father loved him fiercely and was unafraid of showing him that. His mother was bold and a wonder to behold. She had burned with a bright ferocity, but her time had been short and she died when she fell ill with the Fire Fever when he was 12. Lu Ten had been raised with love and patience, and it was with those lessons that, even at 16, he tried to care for his cousins. But even with all the love he gave, he could not substitute for the negligence of both parents, especially with kids being so young.

Zuko, who wore his heart on his sleeve and cared about everything and everyone, had declared Lu Ten to be his idol. Azula who strived for perfection to avoid the pain felt by her mother and brother, was taught that affection was weakness and so, even young as she was, rejected Lu Ten and cared little for him and the love he might offer her. After all, love was what Ursa and Zuko chose. And Ozai would hurt them for choosing that.

Lu Ten began learning the Dao swords from the swordmaster Piandao when he was twelve. His father thought a hobby would prove useful and help him expand his bending. Lu Ten agreed. But mostly because he just loved the idea of being manly with swords. And who could blame a teenager for being obsessed with what they perceived to be “cool”. 

When he began teaching Zuko, he meant for it to help Zuko master his kata forms and patience to improve his firebending. Instead, it became a bonding experience for them both. They grew close through their love of the swords, and even despite Ozai’s disapproval, Zuko practiced with them and became proficient.

Lu Ten gifted Zuko a pair of Dao swords for his own possession the day before he left for Ba Sing Se. Lu Ten left them with the promise of a lesson when he returned from Ba Sing Se. Zuko left him with an enthusiastic thanks and a promise to practice every day just for Lu Ten. 

Lu Ten’s memory of his lessons and bond with Zuko kept him moving long enough to reach the burned down shack, find the food, and to begin his life over. For the next six years, he would dream of that promise almost every night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really hard to write. It felt violent and sad, but overall it was really necessary. Let me know if you catch any mistakes I missed, or let me know if you felt the emotions I was trying to portray.  
> Please feel free to give me some feedback and thank you so much for reading!!!


	3. War Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gaang prepares for the invasion and destinies begin.

Lu Ten’s small house was a little ways away from the village. There was land surrounding his property so he didn’t have any neighbours. He had plenty of trees around his home but kept certain pathways clear so any guests (or unwanted visitors) would be visible as they approached his home. He would never be caught unawares, a fear he had brought with him from his last moments in Ba Sing Se. The barn was just a few meters away from a side entrance into his house. It was just large enough to fit the bison, and Lu Ten let out a small puff of relief, he hadn’t been sure when he’d offered.

He walked into his home first, giving his back to Aang and his friends as a show of trust. They had taken some time to run through introductions earlier that day while waiting for night to fall so they could move Appa.

Once they were all inside, he turned to look at them. “I have two guest bedrooms. I’ll leave it up to you guys to figure out how you want to split yourselves.” He pointed to where they could find them. “The lavatory is right through that door. There's a bath if you guys want to clean up. I can heat the water for you if you would like.” He made a small flame in the palm of his hand to follow the statement. 

“Let me know if you guys should need anything else. We can talk more tomorrow morning about your plans, your training, and anything else we should need to cover. For now, get some rest.” The four kids smiled at him and nodded their thanks, varying levels of trust on each of their faces.

Lu Ten walked into his own bedroom and shut the door. As soon as the door closed, he felt himself slump down, losing his energy.

Why had he done this? Why had he thought this was a good idea? He had just agreed to help the Avatar kill his Uncle. Ozai was not a good man. He abused his wife and son on a regular basis, but Lu Ten knew that Zuko had loved the man regardless. He didn’t want Ozai to die, no matter how much he may deserve it. Either way, both the Fire Nation and the world would benefit from the end of his reign. Lu Ten didn't know why he wanted to spare his uncle’s life, he certainly didn’t deserve it. Either he had lost his nerve for war after Ba Sing Se, or he simply remembered the way Ozai would look proudly at Azula when she would accomplish something new. 

The man was sick, but some part of him was proud of his daughter, proud of what she could do. He morphed her into his image, and even at the young age she had been when he left, he could see it. From the stories he had heard of home, it had only progressed. Azula took pride in being great because it meant she had her father’s approval and none of Zuko’s pain.

He sat down heavily on his bed, put his head in his hands, and didn’t move for two hours. When he finally did, it was only to lay down and roll over on his side. He fell asleep within seconds.

The next morning he woke to the sound of laughter. Well, he woke to the smell of laughter and burning meat. He rolled out of bed, grabbed the first pair of pants he saw and pulled them on as he rushed to the kitchen. He arrived breathless, hair out of sorts, and with a dazed expression on his face to find the four kids trying to make breakfast.

“Oh hey! You’re finally awake!” Toph remarked. “Took you long enough. What? A little talking with some kids made the old man tired?” She teased with a smirk.

Lu Ten rolled his eyes even though he was slightly surprised himself at the hour in which he woke. Like most fire benders, the heat from dawn tended to give him energy, causing his body to wake.

“Hilarious. Did you burn down my kitchen?”

“No, we put out the fire!” Aang said with cheerful naivety.

“Aang, shush! He wasn’t supposed to know there was a fire!” Sokka replied with a small voice crack. Lu Ten snorted, then took charge of cooking breakfast.

It was mostly alright. Some of the meat had burned at the sides, but he decided he could fix it by making noodles. He set the water to boil and placed some noodles in the water. He added spices to flavour the broth, and then he waited.

“Alright. While that's cooking, let’s talk.” He gestured to the table, and they all sat. “What’s your plan to take Ozai down? How are you going to accomplish that?”

“Our plan is to invade the Fire Nation during a solar eclipse. It's where the firebenders will be powerless. They won’t be able to fight back.” Sokka explained. Lu Ten said nothing, nodding his head in understanding. “If we start the invasion before the eclipse, we can reach the centre by the time the eclipse begins. If the fire benders can’t fight, they’ll have to surrender. Once they do that, we have control over the Fire Nation capital.

“While we invade, Aang will go on ahead to take care of the Firelord himself, so by the end of the eclipse, the Fire Nation won't have a leader anymore, their capital will be taken, and the Fire Nation will have to end the war.” Sokka finished with a small grin, his hand fisting up.

Le Ten stood up, went to the stove to make five bowls of soup for each of them. He was thinking. He returned, placing a bowl in front of each of them.

“Where are you going to get your army for the invasion?” Lu Ten said carefully.

“We have friends from all over, in all parts of the country. We know other waterbenders, other earthbenders, and our Dad has a fleet at his command too. We figured if we got their support, we could have enough to mount an invasion,” Katara explained. 

“Alright. So what do you need to do to prepare for the invasion.?”

“Well, we have to get in contact with everyone we have in mind and have them all meet up so we can inform them of the plan. From there, it’ll be easy to organize and sort the details.” Sokka said, confidently. 

“Alright, that plan sounds like a good base. But I have a few suggestions I’d like to add,” Lu Ten looked them each in their eyes before continuing.

“We have time before the eclipse begins. It's four weeks away. From what I’ve gathered, Aang hasn’t started learning Firebending yet, so I can teach him some basics before the invasion such as how to block a firebending blast. At least, enough to be able to understand it, and defend himself from it. Furthermore, each of you has had masters guiding you to excellence, except for Sokka.” He turned to look at Sokka.

“Right now, you’re a sitting duck. You’re not a bender, and you’ve never had any formal training with a weapon. My suggestion is that you find one.”

“Katara and Toph, you guys are the most prepared for what you have to do, so your task will be finding and gathering everyone for this mission. I suggest that the two of you focus on gathering support for the invasion while Sokka and Aang focus on their training.”

The kids all nodded in agreement with his words. Sokka looked slightly put out by Lu Ten’s words, but he knew them to be true.

“But Tenko, I don't know where to find a master. I don’t even know anything about a weapon other than my boomerang. I’m also from the Southern Water Tribe. Who would want to teach me?”

“I would recommend Piandao. He’s the best swordmaster in the Fire Nation. Probably only a day's walk from here too. I learned from him, as did my cousin when we were young. I think it would probably be best if you didn’t mention the part about being from the Water Tribe, but that goes without saying. If you get it, it will be on your own merit and if he deems you worthy. But if you go, please remember not to mention me. He won’t know me under this name, and as far as he knows, I’m dead. I’d rather not change that just yet.” Lu Ten had no doubt that Piandao would take Sokka. But he figured it would be best to let Sokka get there on his own.

“What about you?” Toph said, looking at him suspiciously. “What’s your role in this?”

“My role is to teach the avatar fire bending. Beyond that, I have no role. I won’t be helping you with the invasion.”

Once he said that the four of them looked at him in shock.

“I don't understand. You said you would help us take down the Firelord.” Toph stood up, slamming her hands on the table in front of her. “Now you tell you’re too much of a pansy to help us fight! What’s up with that?!” She yelled.

“That's not what I said.” Lu Ten replied calmly, folding his arms in front of his chest and leaned back in his chair. Lu Ten felt fleeting satisfaction as he thought that his calm demeanour would have made his father proud. He quickly brushed the thought aside, knowing it wasn’t the time to be thinking of his father.

“I said I would help the avatar defeat the Firelord. I said I would help you end the war. But I have no desire to take the lives of the soldiers who are simply following orders. I am still a Fire Nation citizen, and I won't betray my country. I will help the Avatar restore peace, but I will not wage more war and kill more people, especially my fellow citizens. I will not stand in the way of your invasion plan or fight you against it, but I won’t help you.”

Toph sat down with a slump. “I guess I can understand that.” Sokka looked pensive as if he were mulling over his words. Katara had a small frown on her face, her arms were crossed and she glanced down at her plate. Aang, on the other hand, had a soft smile on his face. His eyes were shining, and he looked happy at Lu Ten’s words. Lu Ten had figured if anyone would be willing to accept his neutral stance, it would be the avatar.

“I agree with Lu Ten. You want to help me because you want to stop the bloodshed. You want to help me save the Fire Nation along with the rest of the world.”

Lu Ten smiled. Aang had understood. “The Fire Nation has lost its way. We are not a bad country. My people aren’t evil. We just need to change directions.” Katara looked up, her frown gone. She understood as well. She gave a sharp nod, and with that, their destinies began.

The next few weeks were busy for each of them. They each had roles to fill, and missions to complete. 

Sokka was the first to leave Lu Ten’s home. He left two days later to go ask an audience from Piandao, the swordmaster. They had received word from him a few days later, saying that he had been accepted as an apprentice and that he was training hard. Lu Ten knew from past experience that Sokka would be quaking every night after training, his muscles exhausted from rigorously repeated exercises. 

Katara was the next to leave. She left a day after Sokka, taking Appa to find her father and the other water tribe warriors to tell them of the Invasion. They had agreed to meet at a specific location a week before the invasion, Lu Ten didn’t ask where. He didn't want to know. In the meantime, Katara hoped her father would help her in the recruitment process to build a strong invasion force. Katara returned a week later, all smiles at her success in meeting with her father.

Two days after Katara’s return, she and Toph left to reach out to the earthbenders for help. While Katara had felt confident enough to be able to sway the Water Tribe alone, she wasn’t sure about the Earth Kingdom. Toph, however, seemed to relish the idea of an upcoming challenge. And so, the two of them left, returning a week later with news of success.

While Sokka was off training with his master and Katara was with the Water Tribe, Lu Ten and Toph took turns training Aang. Lu Ten would wake Aang when the sun would rise, and they would meditate for the hour it took for the sun to gain strength and begin heating the earth. From there, they worked on feeling the source of power and controlling the element. Lu Ten would snigger to himself each time Aang would get bored and ask to move on to something new, before turning him down flat and telling him to “focus on your breathing!” 

In the afternoons, when Aang was done for the day with practicing basics, he would spar with Toph, working on feeling vibrations and in Toph’s words, “grow a spine, Twinkletoes!”. Once Katara returned and left again with Toph, Lu Ten began to teach Aang how to dissipate fire, and how to defend from a fire blast. And in doing so, Aang created his first controlled fire. The smile of delight after his success filled Lu Ten with a joy he hadn’t felt in years. He turned away to hide the tears tickling his eyes.

Two and a half weeks after they began their missions, it was nearing time for the Invasion. Two and a half weeks marked Katara and Toph’s return from the Earth Kingdom. At three weeks, Sokka returned from his training with Piandao. And at last, they were together again.

The night Sokka arrived, Lu Ten made a large celebratory dinner. He tried to include a dish from the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom but based on the over-enthusiastic thanks he received with strained smiles, he didn’t think he succeeded in mimicking the recipes. 

“It was amazing guys! By the time I’d advanced enough to make my sword, a meteorite had fallen close by. So I hammered pieces off to make it with. And look at it!! It's my space sword!!” Sokka beamed as he whipped his sword off his back and showed them. 

Katara and Aang gave coos of admiration while Toph ran her fingers over it. Even Lu Ten showed appreciation for the unique colour.

“That reminds me! Toph, I kept a piece for you. I figured you’ve never bent Space Earth before!” He shoved a small piece of the meteorite into her hands.

“Cool!! Look at this!” She beamed and made shapes with the rock as they all laughed at what she was doing. They laughed while they ate, each recounting their tales. They stayed there for hours, simply talking and laughing, taking the opportunity to relax while they could. Yet eventually the tone turned sombre.

“We leave tomorrow,” Katara began. She hesitated, not knowing how to continue.

“Thank you for helping us get organized for the invasion. And thank you for teaching me how to defend myself from fire bending. I’ll need everything you’ve taught me,” Aang finished her train of thought with a small bow in Lu Ten’s direction.

Lu Ten nodded, smiling at the boy with the large grin and bright view of the world. He had grown fond of him throughout their time together. It made him wistful of his past and his childhood with his cousins.

“Please be safe during the invasion. I have every intention of seeing you again after this is all over.” Lu Ten hesitated before plowing on. “Why don't we set a meeting place for after the invasion. Should things go wrong, you’ll need a place to escape to, and some help with resources. And if things go right, well, I’m sure you could use a vacation.”

“I think that’s a good idea. It never hurts to have a backup plan.” Sokka said solemnly. His young face looked focused, and it aged him making him look older and more serious. 

“Why not meet at the Western Air Temple? It's abandoned and nobody will think to look there. It's hard to get to in any case,” Aang suggested. “You’ll need rope to access it.”

“That's fine. I’ll be there. In one week's time, we’ll be together again for better or for worse. Either way, we’ll have struck a blow against Fire Lord Ozai.” Lu Ten finished with a wry smile, holding his cup out in a solute.

“What are your plans for after the war?” Katara asked.

Lu Ten froze, gave a small smile, and replied, “I’ll let you know when this is over. I’ll tell you everything when this is done,” Lu Ten said, intending to end it there. “I miss my family,” slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

All four children looked at him sadly, giving him soft smiles. “You’ll see them soon. I’m sure of it.” Katara reached forward and grabbed his hand. Lu Ten gave a watery smile in reply.

“I certainly hope so,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, this chapter took a while to write. It didn't come out as easily as the last two. But get ready for the next one guys, because it the one you've all been waiting for. (I've been so excited for it too!!!) Please reach out if you see any typos I've missed and let me know your thoughts!! All feedback is appreciated.
> 
> Thanks guys!!


	4. The Western Air Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lu Ten learns of the group's losses at the invasion and gets the shock of a lifetime.

The first thing Lu Ten did the morning the kids had left was to sell his home. He took the money to buy an ostrich-horse and two boar-pigs. The ostrich-horse would help with the journey and help him carry supplies. The boar-pigs he would slay for meat, and salt to make provisions for his journey. 

He took two days to pack what he needed and sell what he didn’t, not that he kept very many decorations, to begin with. By the end, he had one large pack of belongings strung into a pack over the ostrich-horse. He packed cookware and spices into a separate bag, which he carried over his back. The money, he had divided into several little bags and placed them all over himself in case of an attempted robbery. He set out at dawn on the third day.

As he travelled, Lu Ten’s mind raced with thoughts constantly. Everything was silent around him and it was deafening, leaving his thoughts screaming in his head, demanding answers to his many questions. What would his father say when he saw him? Would he welcome him back with a smile? Would he cry? Would he make tea and play Pai Sho with him? Or would his father be so hurt at his lies that he wouldn’t look at him and give him silence so overwhelmingly telling of his disappointment at his deceit?

And what of Zuko and Ursa? What of Azula? Would they be angry at him for leaving, or would they be happy to see him? How old they would look now! Zuko would be 16 and Azula would be almost 15.

If the avatar was successful, would Lu Ten become the heir if his father took the throne, or had too much time passed for him to be in consideration? Did he even want to be in consideration for the throne?

Lu Ten had so many questions far too much time to question it. If he thought about his family, it led him down a rabbit hole of what-ifs and lost opportunities. If he thought of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, it caused him to worry about their safety. And so, in a desperate attempt to distract himself, he began to sing. 

“Leaves from the vine, falling so slow, like fragile tiny shells drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy, come marching home. Brave soldier boy, come marching home.” After singing it once, then twice, then three times, he hummed instead. It was a song he had sung with his father frequently before leaving for Ba Sing Se. And this song had only memories of Pai Sho, tea, and the tsungi horn to accompany.

While the song itself wasn’t the happiest or most energetic tune, it held good memories, and so he held onto those memories as he continued his journey to the Air Temple.

The eclipse had come and gone the day before Lu Ten arrived at the temple. The journey to the temple took Lu Ten just under a week to complete. Once he had arrived at the temple, his largest challenge was figuring out how to get himself and his ostrich-horse down the cliff and to the pavilions below. Fortunately, he had brought lots and lots of rope. While he had been buying the rope, he had worried he had purchased too much. But now, Lu Ten was thrilled at the quantity he had brought.

Lu Ten devised a system in which he would tie himself to the ostrich-horse, and the ostrich-horse would have one rope around its middle, and one along its body, so the ropes would cross. He would wrap the rope around a tree and lower them slowly by gradually releasing the excess as they would move down.

To alleviate some of the strain on his muscles, he wrapped the excess under the ostrich-horse's belly so some of their weight would help slow their progress. It certainly took time, but eventually, Lu Ten was able to successfully make it down the cliff and to the pavilion.

Only a few hours after Lu Ten had set up camp and gotten all set up the others arrived. Aang had arrived on Appa, flying down from the top of the cliffs. Appa’s saddle was filled with three new faces. They introduced themselves as Teo, Haru, and the Duke.

“Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Tenko,” Lu Ten introduced. “Why don’t you guys go explore a bit and set up camp while I talk details with Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka.”

Teo, Haru, and the Duke, recognizing his play for a private discussion wasted no time in accepting. Exploring sounded far more amusing to them anyways than discussions of the failed invasion. And with that, Lu Ten found himself alone with the Avatar and his friends once again.

“So tell me everything,” Lu Ten began simply. 

Sokka sighed, and started with, “They knew we were coming. They had abandoned the city. And they have a fleet of airships that they used to bomb our escape. We didn’t stand a chance.” Slowly, each of them added details, building off each other until Lu Ten had a full picture of what happened.

Katara told him of the machines that went underwater and were controlled using firebending. She told him of how she, Sokka, and Hakoda took out the watchtowers and how her father got injured. She told him that she stayed with him until she left to help Aang.

Toph told a different but similar tale. She told him of the invasion itself and of being one of the ranks. She told him about finding the underground bunker and about fighting Azula and her Dai Lee agents.

Aang told Lu Ten of his failure to find the Fire Lord. He started with his solo journey into the palace only to find it, and the entire city, abandoned. Aang continued to describe how he came back and how they had all decided together to keep going with the invasion. He had taken Toph and Sokka with him to help find the Firelord’s cavern.

Aang’s face grew dark. “He wasn’t there either. Azula was waiting for us with her Dai Lee agents. She wasted the eclipse by taunting us into fighting her. And we fell for it too.”

While Lu Ten was proud of how intelligent and skillfully they had executed their plan, he wasn’t surprised to hear of the reasons behind their failure. He, like every firebender, was well aware of the eclipse and the effects it would have on his abilities. He was not surprised to hear about the precautions the Fire Lord had taken.

However, Lu Ten’s heart broke when he heard about Azula. Lu Ten hadn’t seen her grow up, but even as a child, she relished in taunting Zuko. When she played with Mai and Ty Lee, she was always in charge and always demanding of them. Lu Ten was sad to hear that Ozai had fed those instincts and developed them further into manifesting into cruelty. But he wasn’t surprised to hear it, however much it broke his heart. 

“I’m sorry the plan didn’t succeed. And I’m sorry your troops got captured. Prison isn’t a great place to go, I won’t lie to you. Prisoners of war won’t be treated well.” Lu Ten looked at their defeated faces and felt guilty for his morbid words.

Twisting his face into a smile, which really felt more like a grimace, he said, “But be proud of yourselves regardless. You struck a powerful blow against the Fire Nation, and you showed the power that they forgot you had.” 

“Hey Tenko,” Toph began suddenly. She had a focused and intense look on her face, and she looked directly at him. Lu Ten felt like she was seeing his soul and felt goosebumps rise along his arms. “Are you finally going to tell us who you are now? We just got our butts kicked, and I for one would really appreciate some new information.”

Toph crossed her arms and cocked her head, challenging him. The others all perked up and glanced at him too, their interest renewed at the question. 

Lu Ten gaped at her. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before running a hand over his face and sighed. Of all the questions she asked, it just had to be this one. 

“I… uh,” He started. “I don't know.”

“Why not? Don’t you trust us?” Katara asked, crossing her arms too and suddenly looking quite identical to Toph.

Lu Ten swallowed nervously and scratched the back of his head. “It’s not that simple, guys.”

“Sure it is!” Aang pushed with a gentle smile.

“I mean, it's not like you’re gonna be some super famous guy or anything,” Sokka said with a laugh and a flippant hand gesture.

Quick to shut down that train of thought, even if it was only a joke, Lu Ten backtracked. “I thought you said it would be fine if I told you after we defeated the Fire Lord.”

“Yeah, but we failed, didn’t we. So we need a new plan. And I think a show of trust is a great place to start. Don’t you agree… Tenko.” Toph mocked him.

“Alright, alright!” He tried to placate them, raising his hands in surrender. “Give me a day to think about it, okay? This isn’t easy for me. Tenko… well, he’s who I’ve been for six years. It’s kinda hard to drop that so quickly.” All of them, except Aang, was frowning. Aang however, looked mildly sympathetic.

“Alright, one day. But we are gonna bring it up again.” Toph warned.

Lu Ten nodded his understanding, and let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready to face his past, to face the pain he must have caused through his lies. 

“I’m gonna go set up camp. Maybe train a little too.” Sokka turned and left before anyone could say another word. His back was tight with tension and all four of them could see it. He was clearly unhappy at Lu Ten’s unwillingness, and it had made him remember the invasion, bringing back all the negative emotions he was feeling.

Katara sighed and let go of Aang's hand to stand. “I’ll go talk to him. I’ll get started on dinner while I’m at it.”

Aang and Toph looked at each other, and with the speed of a cheetah-leopard, their expressions shifted into pure mischief.

“Race you around the temple!”

“Prepare to lose Twinkle-toes!”

“Oh yeah? How are you gonna stop me?”

Toph stomped her foot, encasing Aang up to her neck and started running. By the time Aang had bended himself out, she was already gone. With a blast of air, Aang disappeared after her, leaving Lu Ten alone once again.

Lu Ten huffed out a small laugh of fondness at their antics before getting to his feet and dusting himself off. He gave a small groan as his knees cracked. 

“Only 26 and you’re already hurting. Pathetic!” He muttered to himself. “Gotta figure out a way to keep up with these kids.” He made his way over to his tent and stooped to enter. He rummaged through his bags to find the candles he was looking for. 

He placed three of them in front of him and lit each of them by pinching their tips tightly. Then, he sat back and crossed his legs, closing his eyes and clearing his mind. He felt for the flame in front of him. He could feel each candle, each tiny flame craving for more and wanting to grow. He reached for it with his soul and gently increased it as he breathed in, and as he exhaled he let it grow small once again. Once he had perfect control of the flame, he began to meditate, keeping the candles in line with his breathing.

Lu Ten didn't move for what seemed like hours. Until he heard a loud groan from Appa. His concentration broke and he rose to his feet to exit his tent. He had been there a while, and he had gotten hungry. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the scene in front of him.

He saw Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph each in defensive positions with Appa…. Appa was standing next to… 

Appa was standing next to Zuko. A Zuko who was tall and with messy hair. A Zuko who had lean muscle and the body of a teenager. A Zuko with a mangled scar over his left eye that was brown and red and messy and ugly. With an ear so badly burned it had shrivelled and an eye that was half closed and Lu Ten didn't know how he got it. Lu Ten hadn’t been there when someone had burned Zuko. Somebody had tried to kill Zuko.

A mangled noise came from deep in his chest and it rose out of him before Lu Ten could notice. None of the others did, and neither did Zuko. Zuko who looked like he was trying to fumble his way through a conversation. Zuko who looked beautiful and scarred and so much like Ursa it hurt. He looked so much like he had when he was little, and so different at the same time and his heart clenched tightly.

“Zuko?” His mangled cry came out of his mouth before he realized it. Lu Ten was stumbling forwards, pushing between Katara and Aang and almost falling because he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand how or why Zuko was here.

Zuko’s eyes swivelled to him immediately and Zuko’s face fell into shock. He took half a step back and raised one of his arms in front of him and one fell behind.

“I… I.. I don’t understand,” Zuko’s eyes filled with confusion, and his face twisted with pain.

“Zuko?” Lu Ten tried to take another step forward, but he couldn’t. He was frozen. The only thing he could see was Zuko and the pain he felt written clearly on his face.

“But… You died.” Zuko took another step back. And his hands came to grasp at his hair. “You died and I was at your funeral. You died and you left me. You left me there. I don't understand. You’re dead.” Zuko was clutching at his hair and shaking his head back and forth.

“I… Zuko, please.”

Zuko’s face twisted into rage and heartbreak and he repeated, “You’re not dead. You left me there! You said you would come back! I was waiting for you to come back! But you didn’t! It’s all your fault! You could’ve changed everything! Mother… Father…” Zuko began moving back, still shaking his head.

“What do you mean, Zuko? Zuko, what happened to Ursa? How did you get that scar? Zuko?”

Zuko shot a blast of fire in between them and ran, leaving his pack and his swords on the ground in front of Lu Ten’s feet. It's all your fault was left ringing in Lu Ten’s ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!! Sorry this took so long to update, I had midterms this week and a lab due, too!! So it's been a little tough to take the time to write.   
> Anyways..... sorry not sorry for the ending. Hope ya stick around for more!!!


	5. Confessions and Explosions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lu Ten struggles with his fear of letting go of his lie and makes an unexpected friend in the process. Then things blow up... quite literally.

Lu Ten couldn’t think. His hands couldn't stay still, alternating between grabbing at his hair and running down his arms and hugging his torso. He paced back and forth, his breathing uneven and shaky. His vision blurred. He didn’t know if it was because of the tears threatening his eyes or because he couldn’t breathe and it was making him lightheaded. Either way, Lu Ten didn’t care.

All he could see was Zuko’s face. His face twisted in horrified disbelief. A Zuko that blamed him for everything. A Zuko who was probably right to blame him for everything. 

What had he missed? How had Zuko gotten that scar? What was he even doing here? And what had happened with his mother and father that Zuko blamed him for?

“I need to go after him” Lu Ten muttered without even realizing it. He felt completely disconnected. He started walking and ran right into a wall of rock.

Furious, he spun around and glared at Toph. He growled at her angrily, “What are you doing?”

“You can’t go after him,” she explained softly, her tone oddly soft and sympathetic.

“Why not? I need to! You don't understand!” He turned around and started to walk around the rock, annoyed with her interference. He made it two steps before he sunk through the earth to his knees.

Furious, he spun around to yell, “What's wrong with you? What part of I need to go after him did you not understand!” Without waiting for her reply, he began to try to dig himself out with his hands. But the dirt around his knees had turned to stone, and his fingers started bleeding from his frantic scratching.

“I don’t understand what's going on, but I can’t let you go after him. Not now. Not like this,” Toph said, crossing her arms, her decision unwavering.

Sarcastically and with his face twisted in anger, he sneered, “And why not? Afraid I’ll run right back to the Fire Nation? Let me go!”

“I’m not worried about that at all. I’m worried about how you guys are going to react to each other.” She moved in front of him so that she stood at eye level with him. “Both of your heart-rates rocketed sky-high. Zuko was really shaken, and so were you. You both need time before you go after each other.” Sensing Lu Ten’s anger beginning to ebb away, she fired her final shot. “He’s going to freak out if you come after him. Let him come to you. He will come, but he needs time. The only other time I’ve felt him that freaked out is when Azula shot lightning at his uncle.”

Lu Ten’s head shot up, and in an instant, all his pain and fight came roaring back. “Azula shot lightning at him?” He yelled. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. We saw him in Ba Sing Se with Zuko.” Katara said sharply.

Lu Ten still buried to his knees, fell forwards onto his hands and started to cry. His shoulders shook with each of his sobs. 

“What have I done to him? What have I done to all of them?” He muttered over and over again between ragged breaths. It took a while for his sobs to stop, and his shaking to cease, and by the time he was done, he felt exhausted and drained. He had a headache and his eyes felt dry. 

Aang slowly earthbended Lu Ten out of the earth. Lu Ten just collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to stand.

“Let's go eat dinner. We can talk after.” Aang said slowly. “I think the time for secrets is over, Tenko.”

Lu Ten nodded, not even raising his head to meet Aang’s gaze.

Dinner was silent. It hadn’t started that way, though. Katara and Aang whispered to each other and Toph and Sokka had somehow managed to get each other laughing a little, even with the sombre mood. When the Duke, Teo, and Haru had arrived for dinner, they had been laughing loudly and acting rambunctiously as well. Once they saw the tense atmosphere and Lu Ten’s red eyes, they quieted down quickly. After that, dinner was eaten in silence, the only noise coming from the occasional quiet request for more tea or more rice. 

Dinner ended quickly, each person anxious to finish and leave. Teo and the Duke were the first to go, quickly running off and making themselves scarce. Once they left, Katara gave Haru a small look asking him to leave. Haru looked away, pretending not to notice and stayed put.

Huffing a small breath and ignoring Haru’s presence, Katara began the conversation. “Will you tell us the truth now? We just want to understand what’s going on.”

Lu Ten didn’t even look up from his bowl. He had barely eaten anything. His appetite had gone. After a moment of silence that stretched into a few minutes of silence, to everyone’s surprise, it was Haru that spoke rather than Lu Ten.

“Why don't you guys go to bed and talk in the morning. It's been a long day.”

“Listen, Mustache,” Toph began, “I don’t think you understand what’s going on, so why don’t you mind your own business and let us deal with this.”

A small frown made its way onto Haru’s face and he opened his mouth in preparation to respond, but before he could, Lu Ten spoke up. “Tomorrow. At sunrise. I can’t--” His voice broke, sounding raspy and hoarse, and it was clear that it was the only response they would get from him.

With silence, Aang and Sokka were the first to rise and leave. As the two moved away Sokka muttered a small comment about Momo and cactus juice that had Aang laughing out loud. Katara paused for a moment before following them without a word. Toph followed soon after with a loud huff of exasperation. 

Haru rose and moved by Lu Ten. “Come on, there's a nice spot where you can see the stars over here.” He walked away, clearly expecting Lu Ten to follow. And much to Lu Ten’s annoyance, he rose to his feet to follow him anyway.

It was a short walk, maybe ten minutes at most, but it still took them away from the camp and out onto a ledge away from the buildings. They sat next to each other on the grass. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, simply looking out at the canyon and stars. Their legs hung out off the ledge, dangling into nothingness. It was peaceful, and for a few moments, Lu Ten felt like he could breathe again.

“I grew up in a small village that was occupied.” Haru’s sudden words surprised Lu Ten. He looked over at Haru and waited for him to continue.

“They banned all the earthbenders, and those who were discovered were taken to a metal prison in the ocean far away from earth. I watched my father get taken and all those who helped him fight against the firebenders. So I lived in fear, and I hid my bending. I hid who I was, and I’d spent years doing it. It was second nature to me. Eventually, I was discovered, but Katara helped me and the earthbenders break out of prison so we could recapture our villages.” While Haru talked, he had been gazing at the stars and the canyon in front of them. 

He turned to look at Lu Ten. “I don't know everything that’s going on, but I got the gist of it. You haven’t been honest with the others about who you are, and they want answers. I can understand. I lied for years about who I was too. Obviously, our situations aren’t the same, but I can understand how comfortable you can get in your lie. It’s really scary to go back once it starts becoming your identity. 

“But when I finally stopped lying about who I was and I embraced it, it felt so good. I felt free. I’m not saying this to try to convince you to tell them the truth, because honestly, it shouldn’t matter. You’re fighting for what’s right, and that's really important. If you want to tell them the truth, it’ll feel so freeing. But if you don’t want to, there's no shame in that either. Remember that you don’t owe them answers and if you want to tell them, it’ll be because you want to, not because you owe them that.”

Lu Ten sat in silence following what Haru had said. 

“Thanks,” He said simply.

Haru laughed. “No problem!” 

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Lu Ten began to speak. “I’ve been running from my past. I’ve been so scared about seeing my family again. Even though I know that the longer I run, the harder it will be to face them, I can’t stop running.” He took a deep breath. “I’m done running. Tomorrow, I will come clean.” Lu Ten looked over at Haru and felt his face warm at the bright smile that he was giving him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away.

Haru laughed again and asked, “So how old are you anyway? 24, 25?”

“26 actually. I feel ancient.”

“Yeah, I get that. Especially being surrounded by kids all the time. I mean, the Duke is 9, Toph and Aang are both 12. Sokka’s the next oldest besides me, and he’s only 16.”

“What do you mean only 16? You’re a kid too, aren’t you?”

“22 actually. Why do you think I grew out the mustache? I have a baby face,” Haru’s self-deprecating laugh made Lu Ten’s chest tight. But with that laugh also came a sense of relief and Lu Ten felt himself relax into the night with the promise of gentle laughter and easy friendship.

“I swear-- being surrounded by kids and staying sane is no small feat,” Haru kept talking. As he spoke of minor irritations and used exaggerated hand gestures, Lu Ten found himself laughing, and allowed himself a shared smile of newfound companionship that he hadn’t allowed himself to have since he’d become Tenko.

The next morning Lu Ten woke at dawn. He quickly got dressed and spent five minutes for a quick grounding meditation before exiting his tent. He was the first one awake, and he walked over the Aang, grasped his shoulder and gently woke up. 

Aang rubbed the sleep from his eyes and followed Lu Ten to begin his morning firebending warm-ups. After 15 minutes of hot-squats, breathing exercises, and push-ups Aang was wide awake and ready to wake the others. 

Lu Ten made tea as Aang woke up Katara, Toph, and Sokka. They each trudged over sleepily and accepted tea happily. Each of them spent 15 minutes waking up, before being fully alert. And after being awake for only an hour, Lu Ten knew it was time.

“Where do you want me to begin?”

“Wherever you want.” Aang said as Sokka interjected with, “Your name,”

“Very well. But I ask that you listen to my tale completely before asking questions.” With their nods of affirmation, Lu Ten took a deep breath and began to speak.

“My name is Lu Ten. I grew up as Prince to the Fire Nation and heir to General Iroh. Azulon was the Fire Lord throughout my time as the prince, and he was until after my death. I’m not quite sure how Ozai managed to convince Grandfather to give him the throne, but I suppose things change. 

“I was an only child. I had access to the best education available and finished quickly. Then, I went to military school and quickly progressed through the ranks. When we invaded Ba Sing Se, I served under my father as a colonel.

“I didn't know at the time, but Father had heard of an assassination plot against me. He couldn’t prove it was Ozai, so instead, he took a couple of trusted guards aside and gave them directions for what to do when it would eventually happen. The attempt was disguised as a rebel counter-attack staged after we breached the outer wall. Our camp got bombed by earthbenders, and I wouldn’t have suspected a thing if I hadn’t seen some fire nation soldiers looking for me. One of my guards, Ming, got me out of there, but I saw her get killed. No one knew I survived and I didn't plan on telling Ozai any different considering he was the one who ordered it. I got my proof that it was him that ordered it when I saw the soldiers looking for me.”

Each of their faces had almost comical reactions. Aang looked a combination of horrified concern, Katara looked like she wanted to hug him but didn’t know how Toph looked impressed and had a smirk on her face. And Sokka, well he was harder to read, he had a strange look on his face.

Sokka opened his mouth to speak, then froze and thought again. He held up his finger to ask for a second to think. After an uncomfortably long pause, Sokka finally spoke. 

“Okay, so you’re pretty much gonna be the new Fire Lord once we take down Ozai. That doesn’t explain Zuko’s reaction to you though. I mean, I get that he thought you were dead- coming back from the dead is a little bit strange- but he said things about blaming you? I don’t get it. Just being dead wouldn’t get that much of a reaction.”

Katara rolled her eyes, “He thought his cousin was dead. And suddenly he’s not? With no intention of telling him that he was alive? Yeah, I can get his reaction. Doesn’t change the fact that I hate him though.” She crossed her arms.

“Why is Zuko hunting you anyways? Did he ever say?” Lu Ten asked.

“He’s Fire Nation, what more do you need?” Katara said. Lu Ten gave her a look and gestured to himself. “You’re different. You helped us. He’s spent the last year chasing us.”

“So nobody actually knows why he’s been chasing you? Or why he suddenly showed up here, at all?” He glanced at each of them in turn, each time getting blank looks and shaking heads. Lu Ten sighed and glanced around, unsure of what to say. While looking around, he saw Haru preparing breakfast not far away. He was close enough to hear the conversation, but not to participate. They made eye contact and Haru gave a small sympathetic smile before turning away to give privacy.

“He said he wanted to help. But I don't trust him.” Aang said. Lu Ten quickly focused his attention back on the four kids in front of him.

Lu Ten ran a hand over his face, and said, “Do you know how he got that scar?”

“He had it from the start,” Sokka said. “We always assumed it was a training accident or something.”

“Not from a burn like that. That kind of burn takes precision and intent. Someone knew what they were doing, and it doesn’t look that fresh either. Which means it's at least two years old, placing him at 14 when it happened, at the oldest. It probably happened before that.”

Aang looked queasy at Lu Ten’s words, a horrified expression on his face, but before he could open his mouth to respond, an explosion shook the temple causing large chunks of rocks to fall around them. Smoke from the explosion curled around them and caused Lu Ten to let out a cough of surprise.

Without a second thought, they quickly moved into action, wasting no time after they’d regathered their bearings. Glancing up towards the source of the explosion, Lu Ten saw the infamous Fire Nation assassin. He was legendary for always completing his missions. Rumours told that his tongue had been carved out and disfigured so badly that he never spoke and only opened his mouth when necessary. He was the only man alive who could do what he could: concentrate and gather energy in his mind and solidify the energy into beams. It was the perfect weapon.

“Stop!” The cry had come from Zuko who had swung over the ledge where the assassin was preparing to attack again. “I’m calling off the mission. I don’t want you hunting the avatar anymore!” 

The assassin pushed Zuko away and blasted him off the ledge. Lu Ten’s heart seized and a scream got caught in his throat. The shot another blast a second later, and Lu Ten jumped into action giving himself no time to react to seeing Zuko die. He shot a fire blast towards the assassin’s blast, causing it to explode before it came into contact. Lu Ten then shot another blast of fire outwards to try to contain the explosion’s effects. Katara helped by containing it with a wall of water. 

They moved quickly to counter his strike. Katara shot a whip of water towards the assassin followed by Aang with earthbending. Haru had created a defence for the kids and was focused on helping Toph stop the temple from collapsing as a result of the fighting.

Dirt and sharp rocks went flying after each explosion, all hidden by smoke, causing small cuts to litter Lu Ten’s face, arms and legs. He ignored them and wiped a droplet of blood away as it trickled down the side of his face. As they all moved to take refuge behind a wall, the assassin began to blast pillars away.

“Give me cover!” Sokka exclaimed suddenly.

“What? What are you planning?” Lu Ten countered quickly. He flinched as another explosion shook in the background and used his arm to cover his face from more shards of rock. “Fine! Get ready!”

“Ready for what?” Hissed Katara.

Without answering, Lu Ten ran into the clearing, shooting a small blast of fire towards the assassin. Then, he shot down to the ground and swept his feet around in a circle, gathering as much fire as he could. Then, concentrating the fire into a large ball, he shot it towards the assassin. 

He turned his back and ran towards shelter before he could see the results of his blast, and saw Sokka peering towards the assassin. Half a second later, Sokka’s face twisted into one screaming of success, only to revert to sadness a second later. 

“Brace yourself! He’s preparing another blast!” Sokka shouted toward him. Lu Ten nodded and tensed in anticipation. Then he heard an explosion, but didn’t feel any heat or feel the temple tremble beneath him. Cautiously peering around his shelter, he saw the explosion had come from the ledge of the assassin. His metal arm was spinning towards the canyon below. Lu Ten let out a relieved sigh. The assassin had blown himself up. Whatever Sokka had done was successful.

A second later, Lu Ten tensed. “Zuko!” He screamed and shot to feet and started running towards the place where he had last seen Zuko. Before he could run more than 5 steps, Zuko’s arm became apparent and he pulled himself over the edge. Lu Ten fell to his knees and let a relieved smile creep over his face. 

It didn’t matter that he was standing in rubble covered in cuts and blood. His cousin was alive, and so were the rest of them. The time for reconciliation had arrived for all of them. For him and his cousin, and for his cousin and the avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! I did it! I finally updated!!  
> I've been working on this chapter for a while, but its been a little tough to manage to set time apart to write while studying for midterms. But it's reading week!! So I'm glad to have a small break.  
> Anyway, I hope you liked it!! The chapter you've all been waiting for is coming next so stay tuned!!


	6. An Abundance of Fire Wood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lu Ten collects a lot of firewood. Piandao can be proud of his students. And Zuko bends smoke.

Lu Ten walked quickly. Small twigs snapped beneath his feet and old leaves and pine needles crackled as he walked. Bending down, he grabbed a moderate-sized stick before spotting another one just a little ways further down. He quickly marched over there and snatched at that one too. 

Before long, Lu Ten’s arms were filled to the brim with kindling. As he turned to drop the bundle into the larger pile of firewood he had already begun, he gave a startled yelp at seeing Haru leaning on a tree with his arms crossed, simply staring at Lu Ten. 

“Wow… I have never seen anyone collect firewood so aggressively in my life,” Haru’s sarcasm was underlined by the shadows cast on his face by the trees and the shadow of his headband over his forehead. It made him look cold and distant.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Ten brushed past him. “How long have you been watching me?” He felt Haru follow him as he walked with his arms full of branches. 

“Oh, not too long. About three bundles full. I was wondering how long it would take you to notice me standing here.”

Dropping the branches into the surprisingly large pile he’d been working on for the better part of the last two days, he turned to look at Haru, his face twisted into a scowl. “Anyone ever told you that you’re creepy?”

“No, not really. They usually describe me as daringly handsome, charming, witty. But there’s a first for everything.” A smirk crept up on his face. 

Lu Ten sighed and slumped to the ground, leaning his back against a tree. “He hates me. He won’t even look at me.” Haru plopped to the ground next to him and leaned on the same tree. 

Using one hand to casually bend a small handful of earth into random forms, Haru spoke softly, “It's only been two days. Give him time.”

“He’s getting along fine with the others, though!”

Lu Ten snorted, “You’re kidding, right? Katara looks like she’s plotting his murder, the Duke and Teo are terrified to make eye contact with him and don’t even join us for lunch anymore they’re so scared of him. Aang and Toph are both driving him crazy in different ways, and he can’t even complete a full sentence around Sokka without either running away or turning red.”

“What about you? Does he ever talk to you?”

“Nope!” He flicked his fingers and the ball of earth he’d hardened into rock flew and smacked against a tree. “He knows I talk to you.”

Lu Ten groaned and leaned his head against his knees. “What do I do?” He cast a despairing glance at Haru. 

“No clue!” Haru said brightly. Clapping a hand on Lu Ten’s shoulder and standing up, “I’m just the emotional support. Hey, umm, I’m gonna go meet with Toph, she promised me a sparring session. But don’t worry. I'm sure you’ll think of something.” He walked away, letting out a small whistling tune as he skipped a few steps.

“Oh! I did forget to mention one thing, though! He’s having trouble bending, so I probably wouldn’t bring it up if you’re trying to get on his good side.” 

Lu Ten stopped listening, “Sparring-” he muttered quietly to himself. “That’s it! Haru, you’re a genius!” Grabbing a handful of wood from the large pile, he started running towards camp, almost running into a tree in his haste.

“No problem. It's what I’m here for,” Haru said to the empty air left by Lu Ten’s disappearing form. 

Once Lu Ten reached camp, he immediately headed for his tent. It was a little farther apart from the makeshift sleeping arrangements of the others, but he preferred a little privacy. He dove inside, flinging the flap out behind him. He fell to knees and began searching. His hands picked up and threw discarded garments over his shoulder. He picked up his sleeping bag and let it drop. A flash caught his eyes and Lu Ten allowed a grin to light up his face.

He grabbed his swords with his hands and took a deep breath. It might not be enough to get Zuko to talk, but at least he would have to look at him. For now, it would have to be enough. 

With his swords in one hand, he stood and exited the tent. He walked over to where Zuko was sitting and watching Aang and Katara waterbend.

“Where are your swords?” Lu Ten asked Zuko.

“What?” Zuko looked up at Lu Ten, a surprised look on his face. After a moment's hesitation, Zuko picked them up from beside him and draped them over his crossed legs. He looked away from Lu Ten. “Why?”

“Spar with me,”

“No thanks,” Zuko scowled and looked away.

“You haven’t fallen out of practice, have you? Piandao would be disappointed,” Lu Ten mocked lightly. He knew that his cousin wouldn’t back down from a direct challenge. He could see Zuko’s clenched jaw and his fingers twitching towards his blade. “Hmm, guess you haven’t been practicing then. I thought you would’ve been better than me by now. Guess not,” 

Lu Ten walked away, a small smirk gracing his features. Any second now--

“Fine!” Zuko was standing, his swords clenched in his fist. “Get ready, old man. You don’t know what you’re asking.”

Lu Ten didn’t care. He had no idea how skilled Zuko had become, but frankly, he didn’t care. This was the closest he’d had to a full conversation, and he was thrilled. Even if Lu Ten lost this spar, he had already won something else. 

Lu Ten whipped his swords out of their scabbard and separated them, twisting them around in his hands. Their weight felt familiar and even in his hands. He turned to face Zuko, getting into a ready position. Without a warning, Zuko launched on the attack, swinging his swords down towards Lu Ten.

He whipped his swords and deflected his swipe. Lu Ten moved around Zuko and struck a counterstrike to his side, which was smoothly blocked by Zuko’s sword. Half a second later, Lu Ten lifted his swords to block an offensive strike once again. And so their deadly dance began. Strike after strike began to reign down on Lu Ten, and he found himself on the defensive, only able to offer a counter-strike on a few occasions.

Lu Ten noticed an audience gathering to watch them, but he ignored them. This was about him and Zuko. And with the skills Zuko was showing, he really couldn’t afford to be distracted.

“I kept practicing, you know,” Lu Ten panted out, as he used his right sword to deflect Zuko’s blow, throwing him wide, and exposing Zuko’s side. Before he could strike, Zuko regained his balance and maintained his momentum to allow a strike aimed for Lu Ten’s back.

Lu Ten dropped down to the ground and swung out his legs. “ I always wondered if you kept practicing after I was gone.”

“Yeah well, you were dead. Of course, I kept it up.” Zuko said with a harsh scowl and a swift uppercut with his blades drawn together. 

Lu Ten blocked the blow, pausing the fight as they pushed against each other. Lu Ten drove Zuko to his knees with a powerful shove, and swiftly disarmed Zuko in another three blows. 

“I wanted to come back. I missed you every day that I was gone. I counted each day that I was gone.”

Zuko glared up at Lu Ten from his knees, his arms down by his sides, and his swords strewn a few paces away from him. “Does Uncle know that you’re alive?”

“No, he couldn’t know. It would put him in danger.” Lu Ten dropped his swords and turned away from Zuko. He knew his emotions were showing on his face, clear as day, but he didn’t want Zuko to see him cry again. They stayed that way for a few moments, neither saying anything. 

Then, to his surprise, Lu Ten heard a snuffle from behind him. He turned, his eyes wide in shock, to see Zuko openly weeping. “I missed you so much.” Zuko sobbed. “I thought you were dead. But you’re not, you’re right here. And I don’t understand why you didn’t come home. Didn’t you miss me? I thought you loved me!”

Lu Ten dropped to his knees and the tears he had been holding back came rushing down. “I do love you! I love you so much! I love you, I love Father, and I thought about you every day I was gone. I wanted to go home so badly so I could see you grow up. I missed so many of your birthdays, and now you look so much older and you’re so beautiful. Look at you, you’re so tall now and I didn’t even get to see you grow!” Lu Ten broke off, put his hands on either side of his face, and lifted Zuko’s head so their eyes were meeting. “I missed you so, so much. And I loved you every day I was gone, and I’ll love tomorrow, and for all of tomorrow’s tomorrows. I’m so sorry I didn’t come home. I’m so sorry for lying to you. But don’t ever doubt that I love you. Staying away from all of you hurt so badly.”

Zuko sobbed a wet sounding hiccup and gave an ugly sniff. “If it hurt so bad, then why didn’t you come back for me? Why didn’t you come home?”

“Because…” He hesitated before continuing softly, “Zuko, I didn’t come back because Uncle Ozai was the one who tried to have me killed. I was so scared about what he would do to Father and to me if he found out I was still alive. So I hid. He wanted the throne and he got it, so he didn’t have a reason to hurt Father. But if I came back, that would all change, so I stayed away. I’m so sorry Zuko, but Uncle… he isn’t a good man.”

Zuko’s sobs slowed down. He was silent for a few minutes until his hyperventilations had slowed. The minutes stretched uncomfortably long and the silence was deafening. Finally, with a hiccup, Zuko looked at Lu Ten and said slowly, no louder than a whisper, “I know. He tried to kill me too. Twice.”

Lu Ten threw his arms around Zuko, “I’m so sorry. I should’ve come back. I could have protected you. I was so scared. I’m so sorry. I thought you would be safe, but I should have been there!” 

Lu Ten and Zuko stayed folded together for what seemed like only minutes and yet hours. The only noise was the continuous muttered repetition of “sorry” over and over again from Lu Ten into Zuko’s ear.

Hours later, the two were still seated together. Sometimes they would talk, other times they would just hold each other and revel in the happiness of being reunited. They muttered small nothings to each other, dancing around serious conversations. Lu Ten was worried about Zuko freezing him out, so he ignored the big conversations he knew that they needed to have. He had questions for Zuko. About Ursa, about his scar, about how apparently Ozai had also tried to kill Zuko-- twice!! So instead he focused on getting to know Zuko. The small details such as his favourite food, favourite tea, about how Iroh would get annoyed when Zuko didn’t appreciate tea properly. 

And so Zuko talked. He told him small details about himself, and when he got tired of talking about himself, he began to talk about Iroh. He told him how Iroh had stayed with him and had helped him for years. He told Lu Ten about how they had travelled the world together. He told Lu Ten about the time Iroh had rerouted the entire crew due to a lost pai sho tile and how it somehow connected to some run-in with pirates. Lu Ten listened to the light-hearted stories with a heart full of love and longing. 

Then things turned more serious when Zuko told him about Iroh being imprisoned for treachery. 

“Damn it! I should have known Ozai would jump at the opportunity to do this! That's why I stayed away! I didn’t want him to hurt Father.” Lu Ten looked at Zuko, with steel in his eyes. “He’s in central prison, isn’t he? I’m going to get him out.”

“You don’t have to. He broke himself out.” Zuko shot Lu Ten a small, proud, grin.

“What?”

“Yep, the day of the eclipse. The guard said that he’d never seen anything like it. He might have smelly feet and a weird thing for pai sho and tea, but he’s still an amazing bender. I was actually on my way to break him out, too. He took care of it before I could,”

Lu Ten puffed up his chest proudly, “Father’s amazing! He taught me everything I know.” He deflated a little as his thoughts turned darker. “Do you think he’ll forgive me?”

Zuko looked at him sadly. “I hope so. I hope he’ll forgive me too.”

It was at that moment that they were finally interrupted. They had talked all the way until lunch. It was Sokka who was the first to approach them. Had Lu Ten been less raw with his emotions, he would’ve laughed at the way Sokka had approached them. And while he didn’t give more than a knowing smile, the scene did lift his spirits significantly. 

Sokka had approached the pair of them wearing an expression that was more suited towards someone who was trying to steal a baby from a momma platypus bear than two crying firebenders. But despite their red-rimmed eyes and puffy faces, Sokka wore the face of someone who was terrified for his life. 

“Umm, lunch is ready. If, you know, you feel like joining us. But you don't have to! It’s just an option. You can stay here if you want. But, umm, the others told me to tell you that there’s rice. That the rice is ready. If you want to join us for lunch, that is.” His voice had cracked when he spoke, and Sokka’s ramblings had caused a deep blush to rise onto his face. Zuko’s face had turned equally, if not more, red during the interaction, and Lu Ten watched in rising amusement as Zuko opened his mouth to say something, failed, and nodded instead, his hand coming to rub the back of his neck.

Lu Ten took pity on Zuko and replied to Sokka, “I think lunch is a great idea.” Sokka looked relieved and nodded before taking off like he was on fire. Zuko shot Lu Ten a betrayed look as he received a sharp elbow to his ribs. 

Lu Ten laughed, “Don’t give me that look! This is fantastic! I missed out on a few years, but I will be taking full advantage of helping you through your first crush. Now come on, I’m starving!” 

Zuko squawked in protest, “Crush? I don’t have a crush! Hey, come back! I promise I don’t! You can’t just say something like that and walk away, it's not fair!”

Lu Ten ignored Zuko’s protests and made his way to the fire. He felt lighter than he had in years. When he reached the fire, he accepted the bowl of rice Katara was holding out for him and took a seat next to Haru. Haru took one look at his smile, smirked at him, and flicked a spoonful of rice at him. Lu Ten responded by dipping his spoon in Haru’s bowl and taking a large bite, happily ignoring his affronted look.

“Thank god you guys finally talked! All that dancing around was driving me crazy!” Toph exclaimed loudly. She followed her remark with an inelegant belch.

“Yeah, now maybe Zuko can finally figure out why he can't bend more than smoke,” Katara gave a small harsh laugh.

“Oh yeah, what is going on with that?” Lu Ten looked at Zuko.

“I don’t know! I just-- lost my stuff, I guess.”

“Like your bending is weaker?”

Zuko’s gaze sharpened, “Exactly like that, yeah. How did you know.”

Lu Ten blushed and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “I don't know if you ever knew this, but the fire sages never taught me how to bend. Father taught me directly. He once told me that the way the sages teach you, they teach you to pull your bending from a source like rage, desperation, or determination. Father didn’t want me to pull my bending from a negative drive so he taught me a way to bend without having to focus on those emotions. You’re not hunting the Aang anymore, so your drive is gone. That might be it.” He finished with a shrug, shoving a large bit of rice in his mouth.

“But I have a new goal. To help Aang defeat my father. Doesn’t that count?”

Lu Ten hesitated and thought for a moment. “Are you angry?”

Zuko looked startled but after a moment his face morphed into confusion. “No. I’m not angry. I’m… sad? But I’m not angry.”

“Were you angry when you were hunting Aang?”

Zuko opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, there was a chorus of yesses that came from the rest of the group. Zuko looked sheepishly at Lu Ten and nodded.

“Zuko,” Lu Ten started hesitantly, “why were you after Aang in the first place? Aang told me that it seemed like you had been hunting him even before he had come out of the iceberg.”

“It was my punishment.”

“Your punishment?” Toph asked quickly.

Zuko took a deep breath and stared into the fire, avoiding eye contact with everyone. “When I was thirteen I managed to convince Uncle to let me into a war meeting.” Lu Ten tensed and began to curse under his breath. Haru pressed his fingertips into Lu Ten’s back, and he allowed the gentle press to ground him and to focus on listening.

“Uncle warned me not to say anything, to just listen to what was happening. And I agreed. I was just so happy to be there. I sat next to Uncle during the meeting because Father wasn’t very pleased to see me there at all. I didn’t really notice it, though. Honestly, I can’t really remember the first parts of it, it was kind of boring. The generals talked strategy and for the most part, it was simple logistical things. But then, one of the generals, I don’t even remember his name, suggested sending in the 41 division to break up the Earth Nation’s defence stronghold. The issue was that the 41 division was all new troops, weak and untrained. He wanted to send them like lambs to the slaughter!” Zuko took a deep breath, obviously trying to steady himself. Lu Ten saw Zuko’s hands shaking slightly as he curled them into fists. Haru curled his hand around Lu Ten’s arm, and he forced himself to relax for Zuko’s sake.

“His plan was to mount an attack from the rear while the new recruits were getting slaughtered. They would win the battle, sure, but at the cost of all those loyal soldiers? They didn’t care at all about the lives they were throwing away! So I spoke out. I called it a betrayal to our nation. But by speaking out, I had been disrespectful. Father reprimanded me and told me that, for my disrespect, I would have to fight an Agni Kai. I accepted.”

“Why would you accept?” Lu Ten spat out before he could stop himself. He was angry, so angry.

Zuko looked at him sadly, “Because the General was old. I knew I would win.”

“But you didn’t,” Lu Ten said, placing a hand over his mouth.

“How do you know?” Sokka asked Lu Ten.

“An Agni Kai is won when the loser gets burned,” Haru answered softly. “What? My village was occupied! I learned about Fire Nation customs.”

“I didn’t lose, not exactly.” Zuko wrung his hands nervously. “I didn’t fight.”

“What? Why wouldn’t you? If you knew you were going to win, it should have been easy!” Toph punched her palm.

“I didn’t fight because I was wrong. I wasn’t facing the general. I was facing my father.” Lu Ten closed his eyes slowly, dread filling his body with those words. He could hear Katara’s stifled gasp and Aang’s pained noise and they all made the connection.

“By speaking out in his war room, I had disrespected him more so than I had disrespected the General. When I saw him, I immediately begged for mercy. I told him that I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. He told me to fight and when I refused,” he broke off shortly, “when I refused he said that I would learn respect and that suffering would be my teacher.

“He burned me and banished me. He told me that I could return once I had captured the avatar as proof that I had regained my honour.”

Zuko gave a short bitter laugh, “So yeah, I guess you could say I was mad while I was hunting Aang.” Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Ten had tackled him into a hug. Barely half a second later, he was surrounded by the others also piling themselves onto Zuko.

Lu Ten heard muffled sobs and muttered words from the others, but he ignored them all to focus on the feeling of Zuko safe in his arms. He focused on the feeling of Zuko’s arms wrapped tightly around him as well.

After a few moments, they unwrapped themselves and sat back down. Lu Ten looked at Zuko and said, “I can’t believe it. I knew he was bad, but I didn’t think it would extend to you. You’re his firstborn, I thought you would have been safe. If I had known…” He broke off before continuing angrily, “And Ursa did nothing? I can’t believe she wouldn’t have fought Ozai on this. She loves you so much!”

“Lu Ten,” Zuko looked at him in confusion. “I thought you knew. Mother’s gone.”

“What?” Lu Ten’s voice broke.

“Just after you… died.” Zuko shook his head. “I’ll tell you another day, okay?” Lu Ten could do nothing but nod, too numb to do anything else.

Zuko shifted, clearly uncomfortable with how much he had shared and clearly ready to shift the conversation. “The point is, I’m not angry anymore. It took a lot for me to get here, but I’m good now. So can you help me fix my bending? What’s your source?”

Lu Ten bit his lip. “I can’t teach you my source. It's something you have to experience. The only person who can teach you is Uncle because he learned it from the dragons.”

“The dragons? But I thought he killed the last one!” Zuko exclaimed.

“He did, but not before learning from it. So either we find Uncle to teach you or you can try something else.”

“What about the Sun Warrior Temple?” Zuko asked. “It’s not the same as dragons, but they’re the oldest civilization of firebenders known. The ruins aren’t far from here.”

Lu Ten let out a wry smile. “Sounds like you’ve got a plan,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!! Wow, this took me a long time to write!! In my defence, it is longer than other chapters. That being said, I also really have no excuse at all other than I just didn't write for a long time.
> 
> So I cant decide if I want a bromance or a romance for Lu Ten and Haru. Cuz it could really go either way.
> 
> Hope you like it!! I've got a great plan for the next chapters!! Let me know what you think!!


	7. Of Field Trips and Diverging Paths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are field trips, bets, new acquaintances, and a brief interaction from an estranged family member.

Lu Ten was the first to leave dinner that night. He wandered off to the spot Haru had taken him a few days ago. He sat quietly by himself gazing at the stars. He breathed in the crisp night air and realized that he felt lighter and more relaxed than he had in… well… a very long time. He smiled and revelled softly in the fact that for the first time, his mind was quiet, and he felt content.

He glanced to the side as he heard footsteps approaching him. He said nothing as Haru joined him and bumped his shoulder lightly.

“Hey, asshole,” Haru said with a grin. “The others are just finishing up dinner. But it looks like Zuko was wondering where you were.”

“Hmm, I'm not that hard to find. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” After a pause, he glanced at Haru and asked, “Did you tell him where he could find me?”

“Yeah,” He replied simply and unapologetically. Lu Ten smiled and nodded. “He’s going to ask you to come with him, you know that right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Will you?

“No,” At Lu Ten’s blunt reply, Haru glanced at him questioningly. 

“I can’t,” Lu Ten said simply. Seeing Haru’s lingering confusion, he took a deep breath and tried to explain, twisting his hands. “I keep looking at Zuko and expecting to see him as a ten-year-old, fresh-faced and full of laughter. And when Zuko looks at me, he jumps. Because he sees a ghost, and not me. I need to adjust, and so does he. Being around him all the time isn't going to help that. It's not going to help me realize who he is now, and it's not going to help him trust me.” Lu Ten paused, opening and closing his mouth a few times as if going to speak, then stopping. 

After a few moments, he muttered out, “I need space too. I’m not really okay yet. And I can’t be there for him if I’m not a hundred percent there.”

Haru let the silence between them stretch for a few moments. “I get it. You’re still in shock, and you don't want to step on his toes and treat him like he’s ten because it's second nature. You want to relearn who he is without suffocating him.”

“Exactly!” He cried in relief.

“I get it,” Haru repeated. “But good luck explaining it to him without coming off as an asshole. He might take it as you abandoning him”

Lu Ten groaned and punched Haru in the arm, “Why would you say that? Now I’m really worried!!”

Haru let out a laugh and said, “You’ll be fine. Now enjoy the moment!”

Lu Ten smiled and turned so he leaned against a tree, one leg up, and one dangling off the ledge. His torso faced Haru, who was leaning back on his hands with both legs dangling over the ledge. 

“Do you ever just want to stay here and say ‘screw you’ to the world and forget about what's happening?”

“All the time!” Haru barked out a laugh. “But then I think about how if I didn't go back, my Ma wouldn’t have anyone to complain to about my Da trailing dirt in the house.”

“You’re literally always covered in dust, though.”

“I know! It makes no sense!” Haru threw his hands up in an exaggerated gesture that got them both laughing. And they stayed like that for the next hour, laughing and mocking the world, trying to keep a semblance of hope and lighthearted humour for the moment.

After a while, Haru stood up with a groan, placing a hand on his knees, “Geez, why do I feel so old every time I stand up? I’m literally only twenty-two!” Lu Ten burst out laughing, and when he quieted down, Haru’s amused confusion only served to set him off again. 

“Th-that's what I say” He managed to squeeze out between gasps.

“You’re both ancient,” Zuko’s rasp came from behind them. He stood behind them, arms crossed and only one side of his mouth quirked up to show his amusement.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up while you can,” Haru quipped at Zuko as he walked past, pausing to grasp dramatically at his back. It managed to get a snigger from Zuko, and Lu Ten felt a surge of burning affection rise within him at the interaction. He caught himself thinking about how nice it would be if Haru would be able to make them all laugh like that after the war and furrowed his brow at the thought.  
“Will you come tomorrow?” Zuko’s quiet question shook Lu Ten from his reverie and he quietly shook his head.

The flash of relief on Zuko’s expression made Lu Ten glad of his choice and allowed himself a quiet sigh to relax his tension. “I think it's best if you do this with Aang. You two should get to know each other better. Besides, you guys have to figure out how to work together too.”

Zuko nodded, his movement slightly exaggerated, “That's what I was thinking too. Not that, you know, that I don't want you to come. Because if you do want to, you should definitely come!”

Lu Ten let out a small laugh, “I get it. And don’t worry, I’ll be here when you get back and you can tell me all about it!” Zuko had a small, nervous smile on his face at the reply. 

Lu Ten stood up with a groan, grabbing his knees, “Oh Agni, why does this happen every time?” he muttered under his breath. He heard Zuko smother a snigger and he shot him a glare. “Uh huh, laugh it up.” Zuko smothered his grin as quickly as he could, but a hint of an upwards curve on his lips made Lu Ten swell up with pride.

He could make his cousin laugh. It was such a small feat to bring him a ridiculously large amount of happiness, especially considering it was at his own expense. But Lu Ten still felt happy about it. It gave him hope for a good relationship between them. 

He walked past Zuko, ruffling his hair, and laughing at his scowl. “Good luck tomorrow. I assume you’ll be leaving early?” At Zuko’s nod, he continued. “I’ll be waiting for you to return then. If in four days, you haven’t come back, I’m coming after you.” He let his grin drop to show the seriousness of his statement, and Zuko said nothing, and just nodded.

An awkward silence filled the space between them for a few moments, both of them searching for something to add; a quip, a phrase, anything. Lu Ten, after conceding failure, feeling rather anxious for an escape from the awkwardness, gave a jerky nod and wished him luck again before hurrying off to his tent to sleep.

As he lay down on his sleeping mat to sleep, Lu Ten allowed a smile to curve his lips as he began to look forward to the days still to come. As he drifted into sleep, he dreamt of his family, the sound of Haru’s full-bodied laugh, and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Lu Ten’s eyes opened grudgingly as sunrise broke. He rolled over, pulled on his tunic and exited his tent to begin his daily routine. As he took the time to go through his katas and mediations, he noticed Zuko and Aang’s absence. It was remarkably quiet without them. Aang had so much buoyant energy that every breath he took somehow felt deafeningly loud. And although Zuko didn't say very much, Zuko had a presence. And while his presence certainly didn't have a voice or make a sound, Lu Ten had still become accustomed to it and its absence made the Air Temple feel empty. A keen pang of longing swept through him and with a start, Lu Ten realized that he had grown accustomed to being with others again. He smiled. It was a happy thought.

Over the course of the two days, Aang and Zuko were gone, Lu Ten took advantage of getting to know the others. While he had gotten to know Aang and Toph rather well before they left for the eclipse, Katara and Sokka remained unknown to him. And as for Teo and the Duke, well he knew absolutely nothing about them. 

On the first day of their trip, Lu Ten took all of them to a waterfall he found not too far from camp. Katara and Sokka were extremely happy to go have fun in the water, and the Duke matched their smiles tenfold. Haru assured Teo that he would earthbend the earth to give him a flat surface for his wheelchair, and with that assurance, Teo had beamed. 

It was only Toph who resisted. She had declared outright that water was not for her, that she couldn't swim and had no desire to learn how. And to counter the protests of Katara and Sokka declaring that they would teach her, she firmly stated that someone needed to keep an eye on camp while everyone was gone. 

And with that final argument, everyone except Toph made their way down to the waterfall to play.

Over the course of the day, he found out that Katara and Sokka lived with their grandmother in the Southern Water Tribe. He learned that Katara was the last waterbender and that Sokka had been left in charge of their tribe when their father had left.

He learned that Teo’s father was an inventor and that Teo enjoyed working alongside him, building things. He learned that Sokka was also an inventor and had invented a war balloon with Teo’s father.

He heard a lot of stories of the Freedom Fighters from the Duke. He learned of his best friend Pipsqueak and the other close-knit members, Smellerbee, Longshot, and their leader, Jet. He also saw Katara’s tense frame at the mention of Jet and decided against asking further questions.

And he learned about Haru. Haru’s dream to travel the world before living in a big city. He also learned that he really enjoyed the sight of Haru’s bare torso and grinned to himself as he acknowledged the gentle attraction that trickled down his stomach and pooled there. He also learned that Haru’s eyes followed him as he walked and would drift lower when he would remove his tunic. But that knowledge came at the expense of Haru noticing Lu Ten’s own straying eyes. Despite the satisfaction he gained from knowing Haru’s eyes would follow him, he was also nervous about the fact that Haru knew Lu Ten did the same.

By the end of the day, Lu Ten felt much more comfortable with the other kids in the group. By the end of the second day, his knowledge of the others had expanded to include Toph’s upbringing and a particularly amusing afternoon of watching Toph teach Haru how to ‘see’ with his feet as she did. There was no limit to how amusing it was to watch Haru walk into walls blindfolded.

Aang and Zuko returned late on the second day and immediately went to sleep. Early the next morning, the two of them joined him for meditations and kata forms. As the morning went on and the others woke, they gathered around to see what Zuko and Aang had learned

“Well, let's see it!” Katara said coolly, glancing over Zuko. And with that, they began the steps to the form Dancing Dragon which Lu Ten had learned from his father years ago. 

“With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable!” Aang exclaimed as they finished.

“Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there,” Sokka teased.

Face red, Zuko turned to Sokka. “It's not a dance. It's a firebending form.”

Sokka floundered for a moment before continuing, “We’ll just tap dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord.”

Zuko’s face turned a shade darker at Sokka’s taunting words. He stalked over angrily and exclaimed, “It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!” Then, after a start, he turned to Lu Ten. “Well? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Lu Ten grimaced at the giggles that erupted around him. He glanced between Zuko and Sokka trying to look peaceable between his red-faced cousin and a grinning Sokka.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Lu Ten gestured to Zuko. “It is a form that’s thousands of years old.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s this form called?” Katara smirked.

“The Dancing Dragon.” Lu Ten replied for Zuko when he became too embarrassed to answer. He giggled with the rest of them.

That night at dinner, Lu Ten was seated between Haru and the Duke, smothering his snickers as Zuko fumbled his way through a joke. 

“Hey!” Haru whispered as he poked Lu Ten’s side.

“What?” He whispered back.

“Do you know what the joke is actually supposed to be?”

“No clue,” They dissolved in giggles, ignoring Zuko’s pointed glare.

Lu Ten took a sip of tea right as Haru elbowed him again. He spat out his tea and turned to glare at Haru. Haru was beaming and he pointed frantically to the other side of the campfire. 

“Oh! He’s doing it!” Lu Ten exclaimed. Zuko was following Sokka away from the fire.

“Who’s doing what?” Toph cut in.

“Sokka and Zuko! I think it's happening!” Haru grinned.

“Ugh! Gross, that's my brother!” Katara pulled a face.

Aang giggled at her reaction and said, “I think it's nice.”

“I bet…” Teo dug around in his pack, tongue sticking out in concentration, “my slingshot that Sokka makes the first move.”

“No way am I taking that bet! We all know Zuko’s just gonna turn all red and not say a thing!” the Duke retorted.

“I’ll take that bet!” Toph exclaimed, “only I don't think it's gonna happen tonight.”

“Why’s that?” Lu Ten asked

“Oh please. They’ve been pussyfooting around each other for almost a week now, but still, haven't had a real conversation. I give it another month.” She nodded slowly before adding, “And if I win, I get to have target practice for a full afternoon.” 

Teo groaned but said, “With my glider right?”

“Obviously,”

“I'll give it a couple of weeks,” Lu Ten cut in.

“Oh yeah?” Haru asked.

“Yeah. He’s like Ursa. Heart of gold, but really careful when approaching a situation. I assume that would cross over to this too.” Lu Ten glanced at Haru and felt his gaze burning into him.

“What about you?” 

Lu Ten swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling as if there was a right and wrong answer to this. He didn't feel surefooted anymore and he struggled to appear confident and not scramble his words, “Oh, well, you know.”

He could hear the sniggers from the others and could feel his cheeks turning red. “I just… take it day by day.”

“Day by day, huh?” Haru smirked at his obvious discomfort.

Lu Ten coughed lightly and gave an over-exaggerated yawn. “Well, I think I’ll be going to bed now. Just realized how tired I am!”

“I’m sure you did,” Katara added with a sly grin.

“Sweet dreams!” Haru’s taunting voice called after him.

He rushed away quickly, the sound of laughter heating his cheeks. He ducked into his tent and took a deep breath. As he laid on his back, he rubbed a hand over his face. He could feel his cheeks were still warm and his heart was beating faster than normal. He told himself it was just the others teasing him that made him react like that. He turned over and buried his face in his pillow, trying really hard not to scream. After an hour or so, he finally drifted off to sleep. 

He woke the next morning, and like every morning before, began his routine. He got dressed, left his tent, and began his meditations and katas. 

Halfway through his katas, he turned to look at Aang, who had joined him a little while after he began, and asked, “Where’s Zuko? It's not like him to sleep in.”

Aang woke with a start. Lu Ten rolled his eyes, of course, he had been sleeping through his meditations. He repeated his question but was only met with a sleepy shrug of indifference.

He took an extra five minutes to complete his katas before going to look for Zuko. Zuko alternated between sleeping next to the fire at the centre of camp, and in one of the rooms adjacent to the camp. Since he wasn't anywhere to be found in camp, he left to go find him in the room he used. There, laying on the bed instead of Zuko was a note. 

The note was short. Sokka and I are gone fishing for meat. We took my war balloon. Be back in 2 to 3 days. Zuko.

“Hey, guys!” Lu Ten grabbed the note and left to inform the others.

While they grumbled sleepily at the sudden early wake-up, the news was met with mixed reactions.

Toph and the Duke were glad to hear about the possibility of fresh meat, which would be a relief from Lu Ten’s salted provisions. 

Aang and Teo wore matching faces of indifference, considering neither of them ate meat the news really didn’t affect them all that much.

Katara looked furious at her brother's disappearing act, but Lu Ten suspected that it was Zuko’s presence that only made her fury worse.

Haru looked thrilled at the idea that the two disappeared together, and was rubbing his hands in anticipation of the bet he had placed on their progressing relationship. After Lu Ten had gone to bed, Haru had bet that it would be Sokka to confess by the end of the week.

The following two days passed in a similar fashion to the days where Aang and Zuko had been gone. Only this time, Lu Ten had a sparring partner in Aang and worked to refine his defensive techniques and build his resistance to the extreme heat that came with bending fire. 

When he wasn’t training, Lu Ten was spending time with Haru. He had known Haru for almost two weeks and yet it felt as if he had known him forever. Lu Ten didn't have a lot of practice at getting close to people but Haru had somehow managed to become close to him without even trying. Now that Lu Ten was lowering his walls and allowing himself the luxury of relationships with others, he found that he quite liked the feeling of having someone there. He wanted to keep that feeling.

Haru bended some rocks into a formation that roughly resembled a couple of chairs. Lu Ten plopped down in relief, muttering his thanks. They had gone exploring and had been walking around the forest behind the Temple. 

Lu Ten glanced at Haru, deep in thought. He had been toying with an idea for a few days now, but he wasn’t sure of Haru’s reaction. He wanted Haru to accept, but he wasn’t sure he would, and it made him nervous.

“Spit it out,” 

“What?” Lu Ten blinked out of his thoughts to see Haru’s expectant face looking at him.

“You’ve been staring at me for the last five minutes. What is it?”

Haru hesitated, biting his lower lip nervously. “I’m thinking about leaving.”

“What?” It was Haru’s turn to sit up in surprise.

“I was here to teach Aang bending and support him in defeating my uncle. But now that Zuko’s here, and now that we’re on talking terms again, I don't really need to be here.”

“But where will you go? Why do you want to leave? Zuko would be so mad at you if you just left, too. Especially right after he got you back. And…” Haru trailed off a small frown on his face. “I know we aren't going to stay here forever, but what about the others? You really think Aang and his crew are gonna spare a second thought to Teo or the Duke?”

The unspoken question of what would happen to him lingered around them. 

“Well, I was hoping you’d come with me. But you’re right. I hadn’t thought about Teo or the Duke.” His chest warmed as he noticed some tension easing around Haru’s face. “I want to find my father.”

Realization washed over Haru’s face before it morphed into understanding. “Oh! I get it now. And you’re sure you want me to come with you?”

“Well yeah! Of course I do,” Lu Ten rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, feeling it warm. “I mean, Teo and the Duke too, of course,”

“Haha, right. Of course.” 

“Listen, the thing about finding my father, that’s not the only reason.” He reached into his tunic and wrapped his fingers around the tile that he hadn’t dared go a day without since he was 18. He brought it out and tossed it to Haru.

“What’s this? A pai sho tile?”

“The white lotus tile. My father is one of the members of the Order of the White Lotus,”

Haru shook his head in confusion. “I still don't get it. What's the Order of the White Lotus?”

“The Order of the White Lotus is a group that takes masters from all four nations. They take firebenders, earthbender, waterbenders, swordmasters, anyone really who counts as a master of a fighting craft. They unite to defend the avatar and/or the world from whatever is threatening it. Right now, they’re fighting against the Fire Lord. My father is one of the leaders, and I got inducted when I was 18. Of course, they don't know I’m still alive.”

“You want to find them, so they’ll lead you to your father. You want to help him fight.” Haru finished his thoughts, nodding slowly. “It’ll be dangerous for the kids,” he warned.

“They're here because they’ve already been fighting. They understand the risks and we won't make them do anything. It’ll be optional.” Lu Ten froze. He had said we as if he already knew Haru was coming. He stuttered out quickly, “I mean I won't make them do anything. Unless you want to come. Then it's definitely we,” 

“It's definitely we. Come on asshole, you really don't think I’m going to let you go running off on your own do you?”

Lu Ten grinned, “Of course not. You need me to keep you out of trouble.” Haru flicked a rock at his forehead in retaliation. Lu Ten grinned as he tried to rub off the pain.

“So when are we telling them?”

“Tonight, and then I’ll tell Zuko whenever he gets back.” He grimaced, not looking forward to that conversation.

But as they returned towards camp, they panicked at the sight of a giant warship landing near the main camp. But before they could brace for an attack, Zuko and Sokka walked right off, wearing strange clothes and waving off questions from Katara, Aang, and Toph. Lu Ten and Haru relaxed and looked at each other in relief before rushing over to get closer. 

“Did you at least get some good meat?” Toph asked.

“I did. The best meat of all. The meat of friendship of fatherhood.”

Lu Ten watched in confusion as three others walked off the ship behind them. There were two grown men and a young girl who stood directly behind Sokka. Zuko looked at her briefly, his expression strange. It was as if he was jealous of her, yet admired and genuinely liked her. 

As Katara ran to hug the man, Lu Ten muttered to Haru, “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“None whatsoever. But those glances between Sokka and that new girl isn’t making me hopeful for winning my bet.”

“Haha. Good luck with that. I still think you bet too soon.”

“You’re not concerned?”

“Nah, let them sort it out. Besides, it looks more like Sokka’s got some sort of awe factor when it comes to her. If it does turn out to be something, I don't think it’ll last long. It feels more like a wartime warrior's fling than the makings of true love.”

“Yeah, okay. But I'm still bummed I’m gonna lose the bet. You hungry?”

“Starving!”

“I better go make some extra food, looks like they’ll be there awhile.” Lu Ten sniggered as Haru walked off, and went to greet Zuko.

“What on earth happened to you? And what happened to your clothes?”

“It's a long story. Is there any dinner? I’m starving!” Zuko muttered after giving Lu Ten an awkward half-hug. 

“Hey guys,” he called to the rest of them. “Let's talk and eat, yeah? I want to hear all about your trip, and when you’re done, I’ve got some news for you too.”

He watched their happy faces sombre at the idea of why Lu Ten would have news and felt guilty for dulling their happiness. But he quickly shook it off. It was war after all, and even if they were just children, they had chosen to fight.

In the end, the news of their departure went over just about as well as expected. Which is to say that it didn’t go well at all. He felt Haru’s tense frame match his own as they soldiered through the barrage of questions.

“Guys! Slow down! We aren’t planning to leave right away and we’re going to take whoever wants to come with us. But,” he glanced at Aang, “I don’t think that’s going to include you. Your path leads away from mine. Your path is to defeat Uncle, and now that you know how to bend and defend yourself from fireblasts, you don't my help anymore,”

“But… I just got you back. And now you’re leaving again? Why?” Zuko’s voice broke.

“It's because I found you that I’m leaving again.” Zuko’s face fell even further and Lu Ten scrambled to correct himself. “Now that I’ve seen that you’re safe and in good company, I don't need to worry about you. And that means that I don't have to worry about Aang’s firebending, because you’re an amazing firebender.” He knelt by Zuko’s feet and placed his fingers under Zuko’s chin to lift his eyes so that they met his. “I got to see how amazing you’ve become, but now it's time for me to become a kid again. I’m going to beg Father’s forgiveness.”

Zuko’s face melted into understanding and longing. “Then take me with you. I need him to forgive me too.”

“I’m sure he already has. But you need to help Aang. The only reason I can leave is because I know that you’re with him.” Zuko dissolved into tears and buried his face into Lu Ten’s shoulder, dragging him into a hug.

“Tell him I love him and that I’m sorry,”

“I will. I won't leave right away. Maybe a few days,” 

“Okay,” They stayed in their embrace for a few more moments before Zuko pulled away, his face already returning to it's militant neutral. 

Lu Ten returned to his place next to Haru and shot him a small, grateful smile at the gentle shoulder bump he received.

“We’ll go with you,” Teo and the Duke said. They had been whispering amongst themselves for the last few minutes. Haru and Lu Ten beamed at them, glad at their decision.

“I’ll go, too. It’ll be fun to kick some Fire Nation ass. The whole lot of them fucked me over hard while I was in prison,” Chitsang said simply. “Besides it's not every day you get to meet and serve deceased royalty,” 

Lu Ten felt mildly uncomfortable by the escaped convict’s declaration to join them but said nothing to stop him. He was also uncomfortable at his apparent loyalty as well. They didn’t know a thing about him, and he hoped to part ways as soon as possible.

Suki and Hakoda remained silent on the topic and Lu Ten didn’t begrudge them for it. It was a hard decision, especially one to be taken so soon after being reunited. From Suki’s easy nature with the avatar’s group, it was easy to see that she would prefer to stay with them and that the sentiment was returned in her favour. 

It was just Hakoda who remained the unknown factor. It wasn't necessary to have an answer right away, though. As long as one came before they parted ways, Hakoda didn’t need to answer right away. 

Lu Ten began to relax slowly as the night went on and discussions began to turn to lighter subjects. He watched the others laughing at jokes being told, smiling at each other, and happy at their newfound freedom and reconnected family. As Suki and Toph teased Sokka, he began to understand why she was well-liked, and he began to warm to her, regardless of how jealous his cousin appeared next to her.

But even with the joyous occasion, he felt disconnected. He was ready to go. He knew he had agreed to stay a few more days, but his mind was ready to leave. He was anxious to travel and he was restless in the easygoing nature of the night. Even seeing Haru’s laughing and smiling face as he interacted with the others did little to settle his need to do something-- anything.

After the campfire died and the kids fell asleep, cheeks red from smiling and bellies full of food, he wandered to his tent and began to pack. One pack per night, he decided. He would do the essentials tonight, clothes tomorrow, and everything else the day after. They would spend two more full days before moving on. It was what he promised he would do, but also quick enough that he wouldn’t be dallying. 

He organized his money, emergency non-perishables like his smoked meat, a single spare change of clothes, rope, and a water flask into his first pack and decided that that would be good enough for his essentials pack. He would do one a day, and it would have to be enough to keep him from going out of his mind with restlessness. As he lay down to sleep, he wondered if Haru would want to go to the falls with him one last time before they left. He grinned at the thought and rolled over onto his side to try to sleep. He wondered if Haru would be willing to bend the rocks into a slide for him. And if he said no, well, it would be fun trying to persuade him otherwise. 

Of course, being woken by bombs the next morning eliminated all thoughts of a waterslide from his mind. 

Springing into consciousness, he grabbed the pack he had prepared last night, thanking himself silently for his impatience, and rolled out his tent. Orienting himself quickly, he saw the others all scrambling. He caught a brief glance of Haru and Toph trying to keep the Temple from collapsing before he saw Zuko running towards the source of the bombs. He tossed his pack to Teo and ran out swiftly behind Zuko, dodging crumbling stones. He caught up to Zuko as he was jumping over a fallen column, a couple of sharp rocks cutting his chest, neck, and arms as they went flying past him.

“What are you doing?” He yelled at Zuko. He quickly shoved him out of the way as a pillar came crashing between them. He was blown off his feet and landed hard on his back. He quickly jumped to his feet and ran to find Zuko again. 

“I think she followed us here!”

“Who?”

“Azula! Get out of here while I draw her fire!”

His retort was cut off as Azula’s maniacal face appeared off the rising bow of an airship. Her grin quickly faded as she stared at Lu Ten in obvious recognition.

Her hesitation gave Zuko the opportunity to launch a fireball at her, which she quickly diverted and returned. Lu Ten jumped in front of Zuko and shot a blast of his own fire to cut hers apart. As he watched her blue flames dissolve around him, he didn’t notice as she fired another blast and Zuko had to deflect it for him.

“Go on! Get out of here! Find Uncle!” Zuko pushed him away and turned to face Azula. He took off at a run towards the edge of the Temple and towards Azula.

Lu Ten turned around and ran back towards the others. He gave a small cough to clear some dust that had caught in his nostrils and lungs from the collapsing temple. 

“Come on! Let's go!” Haru yelled at him, gesturing towards a tunnel that hadn’t been there previously. The group had split into two. Sokka and Suki were the last two to scramble up on Appa, while the others had already gone into the tunnel. Only Haru was waiting for him, and even he was a little way down the tunnel.

He stopped running when he reached Appa and glared up at Aang. “Make sure he’s okay.”

Once Aang had nodded, he turned away, grabbed Haru’s hand and led them at a sprint down the tunnel, following the others who had already left. 

Once they had caught up to Teo, the Duke, Chitsang, and Hakoda, Haru stopped running. He turned around and collapsed the tunnel, plunging them into darkness. 

“Well,” He stated unevenly in the suddenly quiet surroundings. “Nice to see you, Hakoda.” 

“Glad I could join you. And you might want to consider putting on a shirt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit guys! I finally did it! This chapter was a huge pain to write. I'm sorry it took so long to turn out.
> 
> I wrote it once, hated it, and deleted it. Then I wrote it a second time, hated it again, and deleted it again. This was my third draft, but I think this one turned out okay.
> 
> Anyways, to those who have been following my story from the start: you guys rock. To those who are new: I really hope you like it!
> 
> Every once in a while I reread the comments you guys leave me and they're honestly so nice that they make my day, my week, and at this point, my month and year. Thank you guys for your love. It means the world to me. Leave me some more!! I wanna know what you guys think!!


	8. Pai Sho Tables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pai sho, cults, trust issues, and emotional confusion

“Shit!” Lu Ten let out another curse bitterly. He had been tripping over small roots and awkward jutting rocks for almost an hour. The light from the flame he was holding didn’t do much to illuminate the dark tunnel.

Haru halted them once again as he paused to earthbend the tunnel. This time, as he bent, bright light filtered through the new opening. They had finally reached the surface. 

“Oh thank goodness!” the Duke cried as he ran for the fresh air.

“Not so fast!” Hakoda cried out in warning. “We have to be careful, we don't know if Azula is gone yet. I think we should stay in the tunnel until nightfall before heading to the airship.” He turned to Lu Ten. “We need a plan before we start flying, anyways.”

“I agree. I already have a small idea of where to start.” Lu Ten stated confidently.

After a few moments of silence, eyes all trained on him as if they expected him to continue, Lu Ten began to feel awkward.

“What?”

“So what is the plan?” Teo spoke slowly in a tone that implied that he thought his question was an obvious one.

Lu Ten hesitated. “I’m not sure I can tell all of you. You’ll have to trust me.”

“Why can’t you tell us?” The ex-con, Chit Sang, spoke out.

“To be honest, because I don't know you. I can't tell Teo and the Duke because they’re too young. And as for you and Hakoda- well I don't know much about either of you, and it's something I’m not at liberty to say much about.”

“So we have to trust you not to lead us into some trap,” Hakoda frowned. “We could make the same argument about you. You have the trust of my children, but I don't know you either. All I know is that you’re a firebender and most of the firebenders I’ve met have been trying to kill me and take over the world.”

Haru moved quickly to stand behind Lu Ten. His face twisted in mild anger and he stated firmly, “I trust him. I know who he is and I know what his plan is. So if you don’t trust him, then trust me.”

“Haru, it's okay,” Lu Ten placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “Trust has to be earned.” 

He glanced between all the people gathered in the cave, assessing each of them. Haru stood next to him, defensive and defiant. Haru would follow him, he didn’t doubt it. For a moment, the absolute trust took him by surprise, but he quickly shook it off, deciding it wasn’t the time to consider it. He then looked to the youngest two members. The Duke and Teo were standing between the four adults as they faced off, glancing between the two of them. They were easily swayed but it was important to note that they were children. He didn't feel right bringing them into a war zone, but he didn’t know a safer place for them. There wasn’t one, the world was in chaos. Finally, he glanced in front towards Hakoda and Chit Sang. There was distrust between the two of them, but they both shared the same distrust for Lu Ten and his lack of willingness to divulge information, and that was momentarily uniting them against him.

“Why don’t we all sit down and wait the day out. While we do that, we should get to know each other a little better. After we do that, we can discuss what to do next.”

Hakoda gave a firm nod and with that, they all sat and began to wait for daylight to fade.

“Alright, so who starts?” Lu Ten asked, glancing at the two other adults warily.

“I think you just volunteered,” Hakoda replied with a mocking smile.

Lu Ten sighed. He expected it, but it didn’t make him feel better about it.

“My name is Lu Ten. My father is Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation. During the First Siege of Ba Sing Se, my uncle staged an assassination attempt on my life in his efforts to secure his place as Fire Lord. In a sense, you could say he succeeded. He believed me to be dead along with my father and every other member of the Fire Nation. Uncle used my death to convince Grandfather to give him the throne, and according to my cousin, it worked. I remained in hiding until I witnessed the Avatar and his friends stealing clothing, and I decided to help them.”

He was met with silence. 

“So you just switched sides that easily? I’m supposed to believe that?” Hakoda questioned. His frown deepened with suspicion as he stared at Lu Ten distrustfully. Rather than feeling offended, Lu Ten felt some of his distrust for the man fade away. He was an intelligent man. Open-minded enough to listen, but not so open-minded that it made him gullible.

Lu Ten opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Chit Sang cut him off. “I was on your protection detail in Ba Sing Se. I knew about the assassination plan.”

Lu Ten looked at him in shock. “Why didn’t you say something?” 

“You were declared dead six years ago. Since then, you wear your hair differently, your facial hair is a full beard, even if you do keep it trimmed. Before you could barely grow wisps. You’re more mature too, so you carry yourself differently. I thought you were dead. To my knowledge, there was no way you could have survived. So I didn’t say anything because I had trouble believing that a dead man was walking.”

“Is that why you were in the Boiling Rock?”

“I knew too much. I’m surprised I wasn’t executed for knowing that the Fire Lord was behind the attempt. They placed me at the Boiling Rock under treason charges.” Chit Sang let out a shit-eating grin, “I suppose it could be considered treason. To Ozai, not Iroh.”

Lu Ten nodded slowly. He didn’t recognize the man in front of him as a member of his guard, but then again, as a teenage prince and military officer, Lu Ten didn’t often stop to recognize the faces of those around him unless they also held high ranking positions.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Hakoda interjected after a moment of silence. “Why did you change sides so easily.”

“I didn’t,” Seeing Hakoda’s lifting eyebrows he continued hastily. “I love my people and I will always be a part of the Fire Nation. I am proud of my heritage and my people. But my people are tired of the war too. They’re tired of the deaths that come with it. I want to end the war, not defeat my nation. And to do that, I fully support the Avatar in his goal to take out the man who ordered my own death, attempted to murder his son twice, abused his family, and is cares little about his people and more for himself and gaining power.” He gave a sarcastic smile to Hakoda, challenging him.

All he received was a nod. “Alright. Sounds fair. We won’t agree perfectly and I’m not sure I trust you, but we have the same goal and for now, that’s what matters. I still want to know your plan though.”

“I can’t tell you why, but I need to find a Harbour town. From there, I can probably find someone who can help get us the information I need to find my Father. He’s going to be fighting to end the war too so I want to join him. I think it's about time I stopped being neutral.”

“Well then, we’re glad to have you.” Hakoda stood up and smiled at Lu Ten. He stuck out his hand, and Lu Ten grasped it, grinning back at the man in front of him. He respected the older man and he was willing to place trust in him too. For now, that would have to be as good a base as any, he supposed.

As night fell, they snuck onto the ship and began to fly towards the Earth Kingdom Coast approaching Ba Sing Se. Much to Lu Ten’s happiness, the flight was quick and only took three days. They landed around a day's walk from the nearest harbour town and abandoned the ship. It was a large craft and made them vulnerable from attack from anyone who recognized it. Earth and Water Tribe people would see it as an enemy ship and try to take it down. The Fire Nation was also risky in case they were identified as a commandeered ship.

Once they landed, they walked till nightfall and set up camp less than an hour's walk from the large harbour hub. 

“Are we all going to go? Or just take certain people?” Hakoda asked.

“I don't think we should all go. It's too risky, especially with our clothing.” He gestured towards Hakoda and Chit Sang’s prison uniforms. “You, me, and Haru. Chit Sang stays with Teo and the Duke.” He looked at Chit Sang. “If we’ve been gone longer than two days, then you’ll have to take care of the kids and leave without us.”

“You’re expecting trouble?” Chit Sang asked.

“No, but we can't be too careful. I only have one extra set of clothes that I can give to Hakoda. You won't fit, you’re too big.” Chit Sang nodded. It certainly made sense, but Lu Ten could sense that he still wasn’t happy with being left behind. 

“But I also want you to stay behind because you’re a bender. Hakoda, Teo, and the Duke aren’t. If you get attacked by benders, a bender is automatically going to have an easier time defending against it.” He hurried to continue as he saw Hakoda’s face twist in protest. “I’m sure Hakoda, Teo, and the Duke are all great fighters, but we have to split our forces. We can’t have one group of all benders and one of all non-benders.”

Lu Ten stared at them until they nodded in understanding. “First thing in the morning, we leave. We should be back by nightfall of the same day or at the latest, nightfall of the next day.” 

Once plans were agreed on, the night began to pass more slowly and the atmosphere of the camp felt less tense. The Duke and Teo fell asleep rather quickly. Teo had climbed out of his chair and laid on the ground, curled next to his friend by the fire. They made a nice image and Lu Ten felt a pang of nostalgia as he began to miss the ease and blissful ignorance of childhood. 

He gathered his spare outfit and gave it to Hakoda to change into. “It’ll work as a cover until we get where we need to go.”

Hakoda’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm before he could walk away. He pulled him away into a more secluded section of the forest. He could feel Haru’s eyes watching them as they moved away.

“What can you tell me about tomorrow? What is it you’re not telling me? I know you don’t want the kids to know, and I can see that you trust Chit Sang enough to leave him with the kids, but not enough to tell him about this. But you’re bringing me, which means you’ve decided to trust me. So tell me who we’re meeting tomorrow.” Hakoda’s eyes burned into him. His face was serious, tense, and his eyes swam with intelligence and cunning. 

“I’m going to play Pai Sho.” Lu Ten replied.

Hakoda pulled away from him as if he’d been burned. His face twisted in anger and he pushed his face towards Lu Ten’s. “This isn’t a game!” He hissed. “I’m trusting you enough to put my life into your hands. The life of two children, too! You’re a Fire Nation Prince and I have no reason to trust you besides your word and the word of my children! So stop playing games and give me information.”

Lu Ten saw Haru tense at the movement and begin to walk over. He glanced over and shook his head to stop him. Haru frowned and slowed down, but didn’t stop completely. He paused a few feet away and watched the two to them with his arms crossed.

“I wasn’t joking with you. I’m looking for members of a secret organization. You find the members by going into a town and playing Pai Sho. Once you give the passwords, the informants can tell me where to go to find the Grand Masters.”

Hakoda pulled back, some of the anger fading from his face. “And what’s this organization called?”

“The Order of the White Lotus.” 

To Lu Ten’s surprise, a flicker of recognition passed over Hakoda’s face. Hakoda nodded. “I’ve heard of it.” A moment of awkward silence passed between the two men. 

Hakoda cleared his throat. “Thanks for the clothes. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow, then.”

As Hakoda walked away, Haru moved next to him. “Is everything alright? That looked tense.”

“It was. But I think we’re good now.” Lu Ten’s eyes followed Hakoda as he moved through the camp. They lingered as he took care to spread blankets over each of the kids before settling down himself. “I think he’s a good man.”

He glanced back at Haru and smiled as he replied. “I think he is, too.”

Lu Ten glanced around the forest and noticed how dark it had gotten. He hadn’t noticed the sunset and without realizing it, he took a step closer to Haru. At Haru’s sharp intake of breath, he looked over at him and noticed how close they had gotten. They were standing less than a foot apart.

His eyes met Haru’s and he swallowed, suddenly nervous. His hands felt clammy and he made a fist. Silence spread between them as they looked at each other. The silence began to deepen to the point where Lu Ten thought he could hear his own heartbeat rushing in his ears. Thick tension filled the space between them and he wondered if it was just him that felt it or if Haru felt the thick air too. Lu Ten’s eyes roamed over Haru’s face and he twisted his body to face him. His eyes fell on Haru’s mouth and he unconsciously sucked on his lower lip. He could feel himself leaning, he could see Haru getting closer. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Haru’s mouth.

A large crack sounded from the fire and Lu Ten glanced at it sharply. He glanced back at Haru and saw him biting his lip and looking at the ground. They were still standing close together and Lu Ten could feel Haru’s body heat radiating from him. A sharp pang of nervous disappointment rang through him and he bit his lip.

He hesitated for a moment before he reached out slowly and took Haru’s hand. His hand was rough. The calluses on his palm almost seem to emphasize the large shape of his hand and his strong fingers. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep.”

Heart pounding and still grasping his hand, he led Haru back towards the fire pit. He didn’t know why his heart was reacting the way it was. He knew he found Haru was attractive. That much wasn’t new. He wasn’t naive enough to pretend there hadn’t been a moment between the two of them, either. He just didn’t know why he was so affected in the aftermath.

He laid down on the ground and Haru stepped over him to lay next to him but closer to the fire. Haru dropped off to sleep only minutes later, but Lu Ten stayed awake. His thoughts were racing. 

He had been with others before. He knew what it felt like to be attracted to people. It felt like the tension that happened with Haru, but the difference was that his heart was still beating hard. Lu Ten couldn't figure out why. Why was he still so affected after the moment had ended? Maybe it was because Haru actually knew who he was. Lu Ten scoffed slightly to himself and rolled over so his back was pressed to Haru’s. He was being silly, he scolded himself. It was the adrenaline and nerves for tomorrow. It was the only explanation for the differences in the reaction. He shut his eyes and fell asleep.

A small ray of sunlight pierced through the trees and hit his back. He groaned sleepily and buried his nose into the back of whoever he was cuddling with. He soaked up the warmth of the body he was holding and sighed happily.

A small chuckle cut through his bliss and he blinked his eyes open and pulled away.

“Good morning, your Highness!” Chit Sang’s cheery voice prompted him to roll over and stretch. It didn’t take him long to realize he had been nuzzling a still very sound asleep Haru. The knowledge made him blush and Chit Sang’s knowing smirk made him scowl. 

He rolled to his feet and gestured at Hakoda. “Wake him up, will you?” Chit Sang sniggered as he loped over to Hakoda. 

Lu Ten glanced at Haru and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shook him gently a few times but frowned when all that succeeded in doing was making him roll over onto his stomach and sigh, still fast asleep. Lu Ten rolled his eyes before jabbing two fingers roughly into Haru’s sides.

He woke with a startled yelp and glared at Lu Ten grumpily. Lu Ten rolled his eyes and gestured to him to wake up and get a move on. 

One hour later, he was wide awake and leading a groggy man two years his junior and another groggy man 13 years his senior on a trek through the forest towards the coast. Thirty minutes after they started hiking, they hit the tree line. After another slow 45 minutes of hiking, they finally reached the coastal village. 

It was still early morning, and although the two other men had long woken up, none of them had eaten yet. They wandered the market and glanced around at the sights. It was bright and busy and full of people milling about. They continued to explore, taking in the various mixing of cultures in the harbour. People in red clothing, green clothing, greys and black, and even combinations of colours decorated the people who roamed the streets. Tents and stands filled the streets and vendors called to them from all sides offering goods and clamouring over each other in competition for clientele.

They wandered around for some time before finally agreeing on a vendor selling freshly baked goods. They indulged themselves with the rare delicacies of tarts and smiled at the treats. Lu Ten had plenty of money and a small indulgence as this, even expensive as it was, made him happy to see the wonder on his companions' faces. 

It was nearly noon by the time they had finished eating and exploring the market. They had found a bar, and Lu Ten had spied a man sitting behind an empty pai sho table. 

“Come on.” He muttered and gestured them inside. He approached the man with a light smile.

“May I have this game?”

The man looked up, shocked as if he wasn’t expecting the offer. “Ah, I’m sorry. Perhaps another time. I am meeting a friend.”

Lu Ten smiled and nodded with a bow. “Perhaps another time. Good day.” He turned and left. 

“Not him. Let’s try another.”

They walked to the next bar and found a couple already playing the game. They moved to the next and found another similar result. Undeterred, they moved on, ready to find the next game.

“I noticed another pai sho table outside in the square a little ways back. There was a man sitting behind it, too. He wasn’t playing with anyone. He was just waiting. I know we were aiming for bars, but we could try that one next.” Haru offered.

“I noticed that, too. I thought it was odd.” Hakoda offered.

“Perfect! Let’s try him next. There has to be an acolyte somewhere in this town.” Lu Ten clapped his hands together with a grin.

Haru guided them back through the market. They weaved around people and vendors, bumping into a lot of them. Lu Ten cursed as the market only seemed to get more crowded as the day went on. Finally, they broke through and saw a thin man sitting in a gazebo. In front of him sat a pai sho table. The man seemed to be waiting for a partner to come but made no moves to seek one out himself. 

Lu Ten shot an excited grin to Lu Ten and Hakoda and walked towards the man. 

“May I have this game?”

The thin man didn’t even look up at him. He simply spread out one hand and gestured towards the table. “The guest has the first move.” Lu Ten kneeled by the table and sat opposite the man. Lu Ten and Haru sat next to him, both eager to watch the game. 

He picked up the white lotus tile and placed it dead centre. He glanced at the man to wait for his reaction.

“I see you favour the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways.” He bowed slightly, spreading his cupped hands in front of him.

“Those who do can always find a friend.” Lu Ten repeated the gesture back towards the man. He saw Haru and Hakoda exchange a look at the cryptic phrases.

“Then let us play,”

Lu Ten let out a small grin and they began to play. They each placed one tile at a time. After a few minutes of silence and tile placing, a lotus formed on the board.

“Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know our secrets.”

“Thank you for your hospitality. We’ve been searching for you. Is there a place we may go to discuss sensitive matters?”

The man stood gracefully. “Of course. Follow me.”

They followed the man away from the market and into a quieter part of town. The man opened the door to a quaint flower shop and he gestured them inside. Once inside they moved them towards the back room and knocked three times.

“Who knocks at the garden gate?” A slide opened to reveal the eyes of a woman through the narrow slit of the door.

“One who has eaten the fruit and has tasted its mysteries.” Lu Ten replied.

The door opened and a woman stood, shrouded in white robes. “Please, enter.”

“I wish to have my companions enter with me as initiates.”

The woman frowned. “Only Grand Masters can offer initiates.”

Lu Ten took out his lotus tile and showed it to the woman. “My father is eager to have new recruits.” The woman’s eyes widened as she saw the inscription on the tile. The tile had a light inscription to demonstrate which Grand Master he was referring to.

“Your Highness!” She exclaimed. “Of course! Your companions may enter as well. Do you wish to begin initiation rituals?”

Lu Ten shook his head, ignoring the questioning glances Haru and Hakoda were shooting him. “I would like to reunite with my father for that. These two are dear to me, and I would like my father to be present for that honour. For now, they will simply observe.” He shrugged slightly. “It’s unorthodox, certainly. But we are at war.”

She stood aside and led the three of them inside. The room was circular with a white lotus etched into the stone on the ground. Pillows formed a circle around it, and the thin man from before arranged five of them. 

Each took a seat and Lu Ten placed his tile in the centre to signify the meeting’s beginnings. 

“What news do you have of my father?” Lu Ten asked.

“He has called the members to order. The Grand Masters have all assembled outside of Ba Sing Se. I myself will be leaving in a few days time with a few other masters from outlying villages to join them.” The woman answered easily.

Lu Ten sat back and smiled. “He wishes to liberate Ba Sing Se,” he muttered quietly to himself. 

“Indeed. Do you and your initiates require transportation or documents?”

“Nay. The information you have provided us with was all we needed. We simply needed to know his location. We have commandeered a Fire Nation War Balloon. But we will be in need of clothing. Clothing for a man larger than Initiate Hakoda, and perhaps some Water Tribe clothing for Initiate Hakoda himself. I’m sure he would appreciate being able to represent his tribe once more.” Hakoda glanced at Lu Ten in an expression mixed between appreciation and shock. Haru had been glancing at Lu Ten with an unreadable expression since they had met the thin man and gave him another glance at his words as well.

The woman’s eyebrows raised at his words. “I offer my congratulations on your victory and we will provide you with the materials you ask.”

Lu Ten slid over a few coins. “For the clothing.”

The woman held up her hand in refusal. “You are the son of a Grand Master. We cannot accept the coin. It is not tradition.”

“Perhaps not. But it is not in my nature to take advantage, and my father did not raise me to do so either.”

The man scooped up the money before the woman could speak again and left the room quickly. 

The woman gave a small sigh, “your generosity is appreciated. Is there any more business to conduct?”

“I believe we have all we need.”

“Very well.” The woman bowed from her seated position and spread her hands from their cupped position. Once he returned his bow, the woman’s formal mannerisms fell and she let out a massive grin. 

“I cannot believe it! The Grand Master told us all you were dead!” 

Lu Ten let out a nervous laugh. “I’ve been in hiding. And he told you what he believed to be true.”

“So that’s why you are searching for him?”

“Yes, of course. But we are also finding him so we can help with the war effort.”

The woman smiled once again. Her slightly wrinkled face blossomed with smile lines. While they waited for the man to return, the woman offered them food and they spoke of lighter matters. A few hours passed as they waited and the woman alternated between attending to the flower and attending to the trio.

While they waited, Haru and Hakoda looked at Lu Ten and they both let out small laughs.

“Are you sure you haven’t initiated us into a cult?” At Haru’s question, Hakoda let out a laugh and Lu Ten’s shoulders shook as he laughed with him.

“It feels like it doesn’t it?” They laughed some more at his reply.

“Also, you were so formal! I mean, you were already kind of formal, but this was a whole new level!” Haru exclaimed.

“I mean, I did grow up in a palace with private tutors. And I was a colonel in the army by the time I turned 18.”

Hakoda and Haru’s jaws dropped as they stared at him. Lu Ten laughed at their expressions, and slowly they began to laugh as well, the shock dissolving into humour. 

As they waited for the man to return, laughter seemed to spill out from all three men. They each felt relieved that they had found answers. Lu Ten felt dizzy from relief and was glad to spend the time laughing. He was beginning to really like Hakoda and he could tell that Haru was feeling the same way. 

After an hour or two of waiting, the man returned. He entered the room with the woman and Lu Ten stood to receive them, his expression turning formal once more. They bowed to each other, and Lu Ten thanked them both for their help. 

“I will see you soon, Prince Lu Ten.” The woman offered them each a smile in turn as they left. 

Lu Ten hurried them out of town. The sun was already beginning to set. They would reach camp once it was dark, but he was hoping they wouldn’t have far to walk once the sun had set. If they made a quick pace, they could reach camp with only half an hour's hike in darkness.

They reached the tree line just as the sky turned pink and red and grey. They quickly marched their way through the woods. There was a clear visibility difference between the plains and the forest, but they pushed on regardless. A few extra stumbles and trips were the only differences in their pace. And much to Lu Ten’s happiness, their quick pace brought them back to camp only 15 minutes after the sun had completely set. 

The Duke and Teo exclaimed happily at seeing them back, and Chit Sang shot them a look of relief. He looked exhausted from his day, and Lu Ten supposed he didn’t have that much experience with children. He let out a small snigger at the thought.

They quickly filled them in on the information they had learned from the Order members. Lu Ten had already warned Haru and Hakoda to be tight-lipped about Order information, and so they were deliberately vague about mentioning their sources.

“We also got you this.” Hakoda gave Chit Sang his new outfit with a grin. Chit Sang looked at it in shock and reached out with a trembling hand.

“Thank you,” He whispered. He quickly grabbed it, got up, and went to go change. Hakoda seemed to support his idea and went to hide in the trees in the opposite direction to change into his own new clothes as well.

They settled in quietly rather quickly after Chit Sang and Hakoda changed clothes, pairing off into groups of two.

Lu Ten sat quietly next to Haru, their arms pressed together. 

“Are you nervous?” Haru asked quietly.

“Very,” Lu Ten breathed out. He gave a shaky laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

Haru didn’t say anything and puzzled by his silence, Lu Ten turned his head to look at Haru. He was just smiling. Haru was just looking at Lu Ten and smiling softly. Lu Ten smiled back, a little confused, but happy nevertheless. 

Haru grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers together. Lu Ten flushed a bright red and let out a grin at Haru. He was confused about why Haru had grabbed his hand, but he wasn’t complaining. It felt nice. And moments later, that's how they fell asleep: still holding hands. 

The next morning, Lu Ten awoke to the feeling of Haru breathing down his neck, his arm flung over his hips and Haru’s fingers still intertwined with his.

Lu Ten gently removes his fingers from Haru’s. The small motion caused him to stir and shift his arm to tighten around his waist. Unwilling to get free but still recognizing its necessity, Lu Ten shifted in his arms so that he was facing Haru. Lu Ten immediately regretted the action as the movement caused Haru to wake with his face inches away from Lu Ten’s. 

Haru’s eyes widened at their position and flickered between glancing at his eyes, to his lips to his arms and back again. 

Haru’s lips began to curl into a smirk and his arms began to tighten on his waist, but before he could say anything the Duke’s sharp voice cracked out, “It's so early!”

Chit Sang’s rumbling reply alerted Lu Ten that the others had begun waking as well. The noise of the other’s beginning to move caused doubt to flicker in Haru’s eyes and he quickly let go of Lu Ten’s waist with an awkward laugh. 

“Well, looks like it's time to go!” Haru laughed as he quickly stood up.

Lu Ten didn't move for several seconds. His heart was pounding and his cheeks felt warm and he wasn’t quite sure what had just happened. It seemed like Haru was going to kiss him, but he didn’t. Lu Ten couldn’t figure out why he was so disappointed by that. After all, it was only attraction, wasn’t it? It wasn’t as if it was the first time Lu Ten had missed out on a kiss, but it was certainly the first time he was so disappointed. That was twice in two days that he had felt so much confusion over his feelings. He was missing something, and he couldn’t place what it was he was missing. 

He rolled to his feet with a groan. That was a discussion for another time. Right now, he had a long hike and a balloon ride to prepare for. He was going to meet his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put a lot of thought into Lu Ten's reaction to what it would feel like for him to be in love. Lu Ten reached his emotional maturity while he was in war, and then on the run and hiding his true identity. Lu Ten grew up with love but he never learned what it was to be in love and to be honest about himself in a romantic relationship. So I thought that Lu Ten would understand feeling lust but would have a lot of confusion about how he would feel about actually caring about someone he felt attracted to. I wanted to try to convey that he doesn't understand the difference between lust and love, being in love versus loving family.
> 
> Also, please don't hate on Hakoda. I love him to pieces.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts on that and what you thought about the chapter too!!  
> Love you all!!


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